An Invitation
by MateriaFlower1-1
Summary: In their sixth year, a ball that echoes the only good thing to happen in the Triwizard Tournament is held. Scorpius is desperate to finally ask her out, but Rose knows that she couldn't care less about that Malfoy. The Phoenix Ball pushes Scorpius to finally give her an invitation - but of course, it's never quite that easy.
1. King's Cross

**_Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter. Any of it._**

 _Hi, everyone! This is my first foray into Harry Potter territory and I'm extremely nervous/excited. I'm no newbie at this, this is actually my 27th fic on this site! But it is the most ambitious novel I've written yet (I've got one hideous carcass of a novel that is unfinished and no one should ever read but I can't bring myself to delete, and another that's still being written). So whilst I'm not a total noob, I am aware that my writing isn't perfect and I always welcome constructive criticism/feedback of any kind. I'd love it if you're willing to be an active reader of this fic, but I'm also just really glad you're reading at all!_

 _I'll be updating every other Friday, by the way._

 _Well, without further ado, enjoy!_

* * *

 _Chapter 1: King's Cross_

Tap tap tap.

Tap tap tap.

Scorpius drummed his fingers on his desk beside the book lying open on the desk in front of him. His other hand swung lazily like a slow pendulum at his side. Through the window, he looked down the immaculately straight row of topiary hedges, sitting like green pine cones on the uniformly green grass. The white peacocks strutted around, bobbing their heads in the summer air and fluttering their equally strangely clean feathers. Their red eyes gleamed eerily in the sunlight, like the eyes on those horrifying muggle dolls. Everything outside was so perfect, so meticulously manicured, that it was almost imperfect. It only followed suit that he'd be there to balls it all up.

Tap tap tap.

Tap tap tap.

Scorpius Malfoy, it would be fair to say, was not the average young boy. He wasn't even ordinary by the standards of the rest of Britain. He was a wizard, for one, and a Malfoy to boot. The grand old family had faded to just two remaining wizards in the twenty-first century. Summer at the Malfoy Manor these days could be a quiet affair. It was just him, Scorpius, the Scorpion Lord and Number One Screw Up of the Malfoy Family, and his father. No other family around anymore - either in Azkaban, dead, or frankly just a little bit too uncomfortable to be around - so Christmas could be chilly no matter if there was snow or not. Scorpius' father was just as strange as he was, even by the wizarding world's standards. Tall, grand, and a shadow of the man he once was. Even if Scorpius had never been normal for a boy or a wizard or a Malfoy, his father once had been. Two years ago, Scorpius' mother had died and so had his father's soul. Any laughter or joy that echoed in these empty halls was just the sound of Scorpius laughing at his own jokes. Summers in the Malfoy Manor really were a quiet affair. Scorpius spent his days in his room; his father spent the weekdays at work and the weekends in his room. Until last year they'd even eat separately - if his father ate at all. But at least they did have a semi-forced conversation with dinner every evening now.

A sigh.

He unceremoniously threw himself back in the chair, letting his head fall as he stared up at the ceiling. Twinkling in the glorious sunshine that heralded the last days of summer were the stars his father had conjured there when he was a child. It was Scorpius who'd decided to redecorate the house in the summer of his fourth year on the coaxing of Albus and a few other Slytherin friends with him - their dorm mates, Max Flint, Joshua Abbott, and Alfie Campbell, and even Albus' older, _cooler_ brother - but sadly not Scorpius' favourite of the extended Weasley family. They'd painted the dull, monochromatic house with ferociously bright colours. The emerald of Slytherin, and the silver that shimmered with it; James' insistence of getting at least _some_ Gryffindor red and gold on the walls, and from there it was whatever paint they could get their hands on in as large a quantity as they could. Blue, yellow, orange - sometimes even pink. The house looked a bit like one of those dodgy muggle paintings. It looked messy and weird, and as soon as he came of age, he was most definitely going to figure out how to change most of the colours of the walls. But at least for now it was bright, lively, and not the walls that had watched all the abuse of the past centuries. It helped to absolve some of the oppressive, unspoken guilt that hung heavily on the walls of this house. His father eventually came round to the idea, emerging from his self-imposed imprisonment and helping out the boys. And when Scorpius' friends had needed to go home after a few days, Scorpius and his father had finally managed to bond as they painted over the sins of their past family. The only room that never changed was his father's - because of the fingerprints of his mother that still littered the walls.

He pushed himself upright, closing _Herbology for Advance Herbologists_. It gave an intimidating thunk, and he turned to see the anthropomorphised mint plant on the front cover frowning menacingly.

"Sorry." He shrugged, apologising softly. The face seemed to placate, returning to its usually vacant absent-minded stare. Either the book cover really was moving, or this place had finally driven him mad.

Today was the 31st of August - and all witches and wizards knew what that meant. His trunk had stood open at the foot of his bed for three days now, a pile of neatly folded clothes, books and trinkets at the side. Being a mummy's boy did occasionally have perks. That, and having no mother around anymore to fold your clothes for you meant you learnt to fold nicely one way or another if you even cared a little bit about keeping things tidy.

He picked up today's newspaper, thrown haphazardly into the trunk this morning when it had been meant for his bed. ' _Ministry Continues Battle with Elves over Elf Reform_ ' belted the title from the front page. Scorpius was never sure whether to laugh or cry when he read headlines like that. The front page had other articles about a record-sized sheep being born with the aid of magic in hick-town Leicestershire somewhere, an op-ed on Muggle's fascination with the ' _television_ ', and the prizes had been given out for The Potion Innovation Awards 2020.

Scorpius paused, tilting his head to examine the article written in a tiny font. He riffled through the pages quickly and skimmed the article. Scorpius gave a little scoff. Of course, Geoffrey Plantastrode had won the grand prize this year. He was always won, every year, for almost a decade now. This year, he'd won with an improved concentration method for love potions; last year with a self-renewing batch of wolfsbane potion. Scorpius was never quite sure if he was insanely jealous of the potion master's abilities or his biggest fan. Scorpius pushed the paper aside, absently folding the paper neatly. He couldn't even count the times he'd daydreamed about working in the Plantastrode laboratories, or perhaps in the Magical Archives when he was in lower years. But now he was entering Year 6, it gave him a headache and a slightly nauseous feeling.

Turning to the neatly assembled piles, Scorpius stacked them one by one into his case, brushing the top for dust, and finally closing and sealing the lid. He looked around the room. Large, with big, slightly grimy windows and a high ceiling. A bed in one corner, and a large Slytherin banner hanging from the door. His wardrobes hid some pictures of a quartet of daring wizard celloists from at least two centuries ago that had been stuck there by a rebellious teenage relative of his. He didn't have much of a taste for fashion so the inside of the musty old wardrobe was mostly empty whenever he was at Hogwarts. One year he'd come home, and a moth had actually flown out. The only other things that sat in his baren room were a desk and all of Theia's things.

No, there wasn't anything else in here to take. That was mostly because there wasn't anything else in the room. He didn't have any siblings to make the weirdest things with; he didn't have so many photos that he couldn't take them all to Hogwarts, and it was hard to find a decent shop selling anything in middle-of-nowhere Wiltshire on the best of days.

Theia gave a mewl and a stretch on the bed, collapsing on her side atop the emerald sheets. Because of course they were emerald. Unusual though he was, he was still a Malfoy through and through.

"Making the most of your freedom before the long train ride tomorrow?" Scorpius murmured to the black cat. She opened her eyes into hateful slits and then tucked her head into her arms.

"Well, someone's moody." He rolled his eyes, returning to his desk chair.

The humanoid mint leaf didn't look any more welcoming than the last time he'd been in this position. It beckoned at him with a hand.

Yes, that was it. He really was going mental. Although considering it rationally, he shouldn't be surprised. It did run in the family, after all.

Knock knock knock.

"Scorpius?" Speak of the devil. Scorpius dropped the pages of his textbook he'd been holding and leant back over his chair to meet his father's almost identical eyes upside down. There was barely anything of his mother in Scorpius' face. Shame, because oh _Merlin_ had people made weird comments about his mum, and Scorpius had often thought that life would've been a hell of a lot easier if he'd been as good-looking as Max and Joshua. His father raised his eyebrows, and Scorpius immediately sat upright, shifting in his chair to face his father. He winced as all the blood rushed from his head way, _way_ too quickly.

"Father?"

His father stepped over the threshold of his room and closed the door behind him, the Slytherin banner clanging against the wood noisily in the awkward silence as he did. "Have you packed yet?"

Scorpius nodded to the closed trunk by the foot of his bed, and his father laughed through his nose softly - the closest he ever really came to laughter, no matter how much Scorpius tried. Draco moved across the room at sit on the bed as Scorpius watched him, curiously. His father never came into his room, and certainly never this far in or for this long. He looked up an around at the walls; two green, two red; an uneasy truce between Albus and James.

"I take it that the Potter boys were left to this room." Scorpius nodded, and his father's mouth twitched in a smile. "I like it." Scorpius' eyebrows raised. "It looks far better than before."

Scorpius snorted. "That's not hard, considering grandpa and grandma Malfoy's tastes. It's nice to not live in greyscale anymore."

His father nodded. "Yes. That is true." His voice was faint.

Their eyes met; one pair of the same grey eyes broken, the other full of promise. It really wasn't hard to feel sorry for his father, not after everything that had happened. The only reason Scorpius never treated his father with pity was that he knew his father hated it; he'd seen the toll all those aching looks of pity had done on his father at his mother's funeral. Scorpius remembered all those patronising pats on the head and high-pitched words of sympathy with a shudder. He'd been thirteen when his mother died, not six.

"So, tomorrow you'll go back for your sixth year."

"Yes, sir." Scorpius nodded sharply. "And I know, 'concentrate on your N.E. and don't lose sight of the end goal'." He mocked the voice of their head of house loftily, rolling his eyes as he did so.

He father scoffed. "Sort of. But I came to say the exact opposite."

Scorpius sucked in the very breath he'd taken to beat down his father's continuation of the age-old advice and spluttered inelegantly. He winced, not out of pain but because it reminded him uncomfortably of the time Scorpius had done the same thing in front of Rose. "I'm… I'm sorry?"

"Don't drive yourself crazy to get the marks, Scorpius. Just focus on staying happy." Scorpius blinked blankly in response. His father sighed. "I… It was in my sixth year that the troubles truly began. It wasn't a pleasant time. I have often pegged it as the beginning of the end." Scorpius couldn't bear to meet his father's gaze, no matter how piercing the grey stare had become. His father stood again, wandering over to the windows adjacent to the desk. Scorpius dared to stare at his father's back. "The day you were born was both the happiest and most painful day of my life. All I've ever wanted was for you to have the happiness that I was never worthy of deserving."

Scorpius nodded once, and then twice, slowly. He and his father had discussed some of the past before, vaguely. But only before Hogwarts, and only the parts Scorpius had sort-of been aware of before. And when his mother was alive, most of the time she spent pouring out her heart for how much she loved his father, and how much he, in turn, loved her - even if he couldn't show it. But that had ended with her, four years ago. Scorpius was convinced that he knew it all, though. All the dark secrets that their name carried with them.

"I…" He stumbled again. Scorpius didn't need to hear it. No, he didn't want to hear it, he thought. He wanted to know what his father was going to say, but he couldn't bear to sit through the agonising process of him actually saying it. The air was stiff with awkwardness and he could barely breathe for fear of reminding his father that he was sitting there.

But the words never came. Scorpius let out the stiffled breath. "It's alright, father." He interrupted, moving to stand next to his father. "I-" he baulked "I think I get it".

He didn't. They both knew that. Another awkward silence hung in the air.

This house really was a weird place.

His father shifted abruptly, smoothing the tie that lay against the impossibly neat white shirt and turned away. Scorpius looked at the place where his father had been standing but a moment ago, suddenly wishing that he was there again. He wrestled with himself.

"Dad?" He called suddenly, and his father stopped before the door, mid-stride. He froze, not turning to face his son. "Let's make shortbread." Scorpius leapt off his chair lithely, slamming the cover of ' _Herbology for Advanced Herbologists_ ' shut without a look back.

He and his father were the same height now. His lips quirked at the corner, and he nodded, opening the door as the Slytherin flag clattered against it, the silver glittering golden in the first rays of the evening sunshine, and ushering Scorpius through.

* * *

The next morning, Scorpius apparated with his father and almost all his worldly possessions to an alleyway behind King's Cross Station.

Scorpius looked around, breathing in the scent wafting in the air. A twisted grin appeared on his face at the delightful and familiar smell of London smog. The sky was always slightly overcast around the station, but he wouldn't have it any other way.

He hovered in the shadows, scratching his stubbornly silent cat around the cheeks as he waited for his father to bring over a luggage trolley so they could make their way to Platform 9 3/4 together. He could hear the clunking trains and flocks of people hustling and bustling in and around the station. It was ten minutes to eleven. The station always seemed to grow in a crescendo of activity towards lunch time.

"I know, Theia. I know you don't like the train." His black cat, who was so affectionate she purred madly at the very sight of someone she loved, was staring back at Scorpius sullenly. She hated trains. Really, truly and deeply hatred trains. Despite her generally good temperament, she'd growl and hiss and stare evilly at the mere mention of the word. He could never work out if she was scared, or just hated all the people around to poke at her. He tended to think it was the former - something about the rhythmic vibration of the train as it tumbled along, he supposed. Or she might just be a very strange cat, as Lily Potter had insisted a few years ago. Theia had hissed at her on the train and Lily's pride had smarted terribly for the rest of that journey.

It didn't take his father long to return, and soon enough they were walking together in almost complete silence to the platform. He really wondered why the muggles hadn't figured at least something out by now - a bunch of weirdly dressed people with strange clothes disappearing in the station on the same day every year? Then again, he did hear weird things about the Muggles and their hobbies. Joshua had told him once he had an uncle who _watched trains_.

Scorpius did know that his father didn't enjoy leaving him - he could see it in the slightly downward twitch of his mouth. But it wasn't for the first time he wished that his father would say or do something, _anything_ , to actually prove it.

The platform was already packed by the time the pair had slid nonchalantly through the barrier, and almost immediately Scorpius was bombarded with faces that he knew. But considering their reputation, the father-son pair always made sure to get to the platform as late as they could reasonably manage. Making a beeline for the train, he wandered the tight corridors, looking for his friends.

"Scor!" He heard a voice shout behind him. He grinned to himself; he'd know that voice anywhere.

"Alright, Albus?" He pulled the very Potterish Potter into a hug and clapped him on the back. "How've you been?"

Albus grinned back at him; after six weeks of not seeing each other which felt more like six years to Scorpius. He couldn't be happier to have his best friend back. They'd probably fight within the week.

He shrugged. "You know. Lily's already claimed she doesn't know me once."

Scorpius grinned. "Nice."

"Girls."

"Lily's a special case."

They walked through two carriages together, to where a mass of extended Weasley cousins had gathered. You could tell by the almost blinding quantity of ginger hair.  
"Leave your stuff with me, I'll put it in the carriage. Go say bye to your dad." Albus took the trunk and Theia's cage from Scorpius' hands.

"Are you sure?"

Albus shrugged. "Mum's already kissed me several times. I think I'm alright on that front until Christmas."

Scorpius laughed, harder than he usually would've done at Albus' jokes. "Thanks. I'll be back in a moment."

Smoke had already begun to envelop the platform - it wouldn't be long until the train left. Scorpius dashed out of the train, searching for his father. He knew where he'd be - where he always was. Hovering at the back of the platform and trying desperately to be invisible. He also knew his father hated being there at all - and only did it for Scorpius. Scorpius wasn't a fool; he saw the measuring looks, the glares out of the corner of eyes, and the way that parents pulled their children out from their path. It hurt him more profoundly than he would ever admit to his friends, mostly because their parents who did the very same thing. Ron Weasley and Harry Potter always gave his father a measuring glare, but usually not much more; Joshua Abbott's protective Muggle father used to pull Joshua away in their fourth year, when he learnt about the history of the wizarding of world. Alfie Campbell's parents weren't much better, always stepping away when Scorpius came to greet his dorm mate. It hurt that he couldn't have the same life as his friends, all because of a few mistakes in his father's terrorised youth that he had spent an entire lifetime repenting for.

"Goodbye then, Scorpius." His father muttered as they reached a secluded spot on the smog-choked platform. The train began to clatter and clunk noisy as the driver-less engine sprang to life. They didn't have much time left. His heart began to sink slightly, and he just couldn't bring himself to look into his father's eyes. "Please, remember what I mentioned."

Scorpius nodded, and grinned. He knew it didn't reach his eyes. "Of course, daddy-o. I'll spend this year the most enjoyable of all the years so far." He nodded his head sharply like a cadet following an elder's orders.

The train began its loud groans and squeaks, and it was time for Scorpius to go already. He looked from the train and back to his father. He was thin in his muggle suit, his face slightly sunken, with a yellow tinge, and tired. Sometimes he barely looked like the man Scorpius remembered as his father.

"Scorpius, I-"

Scorpius reached out and engulfed his father in a tight hug. He really was thin. "I know, dad, I love you too." His father squeezed back, and then as the whistle sounded, Scorpius had to run off.

"Bye, dad!" He shouted, winding through the crowd to the shining red train. He vaguely heard a request for letters follow behind him as he leapt onboard, just as the doors were magically locking shut. Grinning, he looked out behind him at his waving father for a moment, waving back and ever so slightly out of breath, before his father disapperated. It was never wise for him to linger. Not when all the children had gone and the adults were left on their own.

Scorpius wandered down the impossibly narrow corridor and found the train car populated by Weasleys. He slid silently into the first carriage and saw only the messy haired Albus sitting there.

"Your cat scared them all off." Albus nodded to Theia, sitting hunched over and looking extremely uneasy on one of the luggage racks. Now and then, she let out a faint growl that sounded more comical than menacing.

Scorpius pulled his lips into an uneasy grin. It didn't take Albus more than a moment to see it.

"I know." Albus nodded when he saw Scorpius' considerably less-than-happy face. "He'll be alright, just like he is every other year." Scorpius nodded, and managed an actual smile. He turned to Theia and put his hands up to her, offering to comfort her on the train, but she just looked at him loathingly for a second before she turned her icy eyes away and continued to stare straight ahead.

"I thought it was girls that were supposed to have Daddy-Issues?"

Scorpius chuckled. "Don't be so gender-specific! Anyone who wants to can have Daddy-Issues." Albus rolled his eyes, dragging a hand down his face as he watched the remains of London fade away out the window.

"Mine took me to do this Muggle thing this summer - _fishing_."

"What in all sweet Merlin is _that_?!"

Albus shrugged. "No idea, apparently it's to catch fish or something, but we never did. Mum wasn't happy, and I heard Uncle Ron taking the piss out of my dad about it too."

The train started to move at a decent pace below them, concealing Scorpius' snort of laughter.

Scorpius finally finished readjusting all his belongings, reaching up to give Theia a reassuring stroke but only receiving a short groan in response before he sat down across from Albus at the window.

He pulled the shortbread he'd made the night before with his dad out from his trunk.

"Shortbread?" He offered the bag to Albus who took one happily, when the door slid open.

"Ooh! Shortbread! It always pays to know someone who's friends with Scorpius." Lily Potter announced in a sing-songy voice, pulling the compartment door open.

Scorpius deadpanned. "Charming." He offered the bag to her anyway.

"'Fanks." She said around a mouth full of shortbread, plopping down next to Albus. "See?" She swallowed. " _Now_ we're friends!"

Scorpius laughed. He didn't care if she was fickle as a moody horse, as long as she said they were friends, they were friends.

Some of the others filtered in and it became almost exclusively a cousin's affair. Hugo, the Ravenclaw brother of the apple of Scorpius' eye; Lucy, another Ravenclaw Weasley in Scorpius' year who was, by Scorpius' own reckoning, quite far up herself. Fred, the Gryffindor who could make even Professor Vector laugh despite being halfway through his OWL years, and Louis, the seventh year dreamy Hufflepuff so handsome he was the heart-throb of Hogwart's female _and_ male students. Not that he knew it, of course. He passed around his shortbread and listened to stories of their summer together; of the life that filled the Burrow over the various family gatherings, the pranks that they'd pulled - although it was almost singularly Fred and his younger sister, Roxanne who'd orchestrated them. How they'd set off fireworks in the bathroom as Molly Weasley - Lucy's older sister - was in there. How they'd egged Hugo's dad into bewitching the ghoul in his old room to present Harry Potter with a gruesome birthday cake. They'd been scolded by their grandma, who'd presented him an actual cake about twenty minutes later. Apparently, the look on his face had been a mixture between pure horror and forced gratitude. Roxanne and Fred's father, George, had laughed well at that one, too.

The door opened again. "Rose!" Scorpius all but shouted, surprising himself into half-standing up. With his stomach tying itself in knots the momentum seemed to make him fall further down into his seat than before, and he could see Albus cringe out of the corner of his eye and heard Hugo's faint groan from beside him. "Shortbread?" He held up the almost empty bag enthusiastically but she just looked at it with vague contempt and suspicion.

"You bake?" Her red eyebrows pulled into a frown. Even then she still looked beautiful, Scorpius thought. She shook her head, re-arranging her features back into a neutral expression. "Prefect's meeting."

"Huh? Oh." He nodded and picked his way through the carriage to over her, tossing the bag onto Louis' lap. "Here you are." He mumbled quickly before hurrying away and trying not to fall over his own feet. Rose lingered for a moment to talk with her cousins and she distinctly heard laughter. He cringed to himself. He wasn't that much of a screw up any more - why was he still one in front of her? And why did she get more and more beautiful every time he saw her?

He hung behind in the corridor to wait for her, but she barely said a distracted 'thanks' before they seemed to be walking at the speed of light to the front carriage. Scorpius madly wracked his brain for something to say to her. Something funny, or impressive, or at least not stupid. He could always ask her if she'd seen the Potion Innovation Awards, but then he remembered that _Ancient Runes_ was her favourite subject. Then he'd just ask how her summer was, he decided, and rehearsed the words he'd say in his head. He took a breath.

"Hi! How are you? How was your summer?" Rose greeted Lydia Griffiths with a warm smile and a hug. Scorpius let out the breath like a deflating balloon. She was already chatting away with other sixth year prefects; the Hufflepuff Grace Hill, and Ravenclaws Harry Shaw and Lydia Griffiths. Well, a man could try. And when it came to Rose, he usually failed.

They all filed into a carriage where James Potter and Freya Walsh, the obvious choices for head boy and girl sat, with a sheet of notes between them. Scorpius highly doubted the loopy handwriting dominating the sheet was James'.

"Hello, old prefects and welcome new ones." This train carriage was way too small for the fourteen people who were desperately trying to sit somewhat comfortably. They did, eventually, manage to fit everyone in with a lot of squeezing and a few people sitting on the floor. Unfortunately, Scorpius was one of them.

"We've got a list of the first house passwords for each term that we'll hand out to you — where are the Ravenclaws?" Freya looked around the crowded carriage for Ravenclaws, sporting a few, and watching out for the new prefects to timidly raise their hands.

"Gryffindors." James passed them out speedily; being one of the most popular Gryffindors, he knew almost everyone in the house.

"Slytherin?" It was James' turn again to battle to figure out who was in that house. He easily recognised Scorpius and give him the slip of parchment that contained the first password - _dracon_ \- and recognised the sixth year's female prefect, Sophia Davis. Scorpius couldn't really see the new prefects from where he was - squished on the floor of the edge of the carriage - which was humiliating when you considered that some of them were about half his height.

"And finally, the Hufflepuffs." Freya easily recognised the members of her own house, and gave out the parchment slips quickly.

"Now, the Forbidden Forest is still obviously off limits, and the Divination Tower is only accessible to the Third Years and above-"

"-not like anyone actually _means_ to end up there." James joked quietly, and a couple of prefects sniggered, but Scorpius spied a couple of students, particularly the younger ones, frowning in his general direction.

"Thank you, James. Care to take over?"

"Sure. The Quidditch season will start in October. We'll allot practice time slots by the end of the first week, and we'll have your prefect's rounds posted in the Prefect's Bathroom by Thursday evening."

"Obviously, this is a non-negotiable arrangement like every year."

"The first swapping date will be mid-November."

James hummed out-loud, tapping his chin in thought. "Got anything else, Freya?"

The brunette shook her head. "Nothing particularly pressing."

"Brilliant. We'll let you know if McGonagall tells us anything else."

"Fourth years are doing the patrols of the carriages, Slytherins you take the first two and a half hours, then Hufflepuff, then Ravenclaw, and then Gryffindors."

"Class dismissed!" James cried pompously, waving them all out the carriage with an air that reminded Scorpius of the wild stories he'd heard about Albus Dumbledore.

Scorpius hurried to stand up before he got trampled by all the pairs of legs desperate to get back to their friends.

He looked around for Rose on his way out, desperate to catch the mane of curly ruby hair. But alas, as soon as he saw her, she just looked at him blankly and walked off in the opposite direction.

"Scorpius?" A soft, very feminine voice called to him; it was Lydia Griffiths. She was a Ravenclaw prefect from his year - pretty, too. Almond shaped eyes that belayed her Chinese heritage, and a permanent expression of smiling slightly apologetically. Something about the way her eyebrows lay flat and her wide eyes and the fact that she always seemed to be smiling. Joshua had nicknamed her Bambi in fourth year, although Scorpius still had no idea what that meant. Albus had the hots for her, and had for three years at this point. To her credit, she's never been outright mean to him, even during all the troubles, and that had seemed to have developed into a massive crush on the middle Potter.

"Oh, Lydia!" Scorpius grinned. "How was your summer?"

"It was nice, thank you. How was yours?" She answered so distractedly that he was certain she didn't really want to chat about summer with him.

"Quiet and peaceful, thanks." Scorpius wondered if anyone was ever actually honest about how their summer had been.

"Umm... I was wondering..."

"Albus?" He thought he'd save her the pain and skip to the heart of the matter.

She smiled shyly, then nodded.

"Yeah, he's in my carriage." He began to walk down the corridor. "Want to say hi?"

She nodded, smiling so brightly her eyes crinkled almost shut at the corners. She wasn't a girl of many words, but was wickedly smart at Herbology. He knew it bothered Rose a lot, but to her credit, Rose only let it show when she got close to being beaten in a test. And when he said 'she got close to being beaten', he meant that the eternally switching ranks of Scorpius and Rose were almost breached. As much as she didn't seem to like him, both of them were equally protective of the buffer between second place and whoever came after them. It was less of a crushing defeat if either of them came second to the other, but to be beaten by an outsider was utterly disastrous.

When he got back to his carriage, Lydia following behind and blushing at the sight of Albus before saying a quick 'hi' and hurrying off; Fred and Louis had gone, replaced by the bouncing ball of energy that was Roxanne, and a few other friends had piled in. Alfie Campbell had joined them, and Scorpius greeted him with a warm hug, before sitting down. Hugo was deep in conversation with a boy he recognised to be Ryan Greene, his dorm mate, and Lily was surrounded by a few Gryffindor girls, all listening with rapt attention to Roxanne. He only recognised one girl, Phoebe Allsop, the buttery blonde dorm mate of Lily from the Quidditch team. She was one of the fastest seekers he'd ever seen.

"Oh, Scorpius," Roxanne called with a wave. "Nice shortbread."

"Thanks." Smiling widely, he settled himself down with Albus and Alfie. Roxanne bounced off not long after that, and Lily went back to chatting with her Gryffindor friends.

They talked for most of the journey, about summer, about things for the next year, about gossip they'd heard and misheard, and anything they could think of to talk about. People came and went; Lily and her group left after finding more friends, Hugo's year mates joined him, and more of Scorpius and Albus' dorm mates joined them after a while. James came to sit with them for a bit, but left - and Poppy Creevey opened their door aggressively a short while after, asking if they'd seen James anywhere.

"Nope, Sorry." Scorpius intoned.

"He left here a while ago."

She sighed - or perhaps it might've been better to describe it as an elongated grunt. "Alright. I'll see you this evening, then."

The boys nodded to the girl, and she left, shutting the door just as aggressively as she opened it.

The night drew closer and they changed into their robes, relaxing as much as they were able until they were streaming past Hogsmeade. All other cousins and friends finally left, and Scorpius' two other dorm mates joined them. The carriage lit up again like it was full of all the Weasley cousins.

"I tell you what boys—" Began Max Flint, the brown-haired, handsome boy who for some reason seemed to get all the girls

"I'm not sure I want to hear."

"Let the man speak, Alfie, he hasn't said anything stupid so far this year!"

"Thank you, Joshua." Max grinned, and Scorpius knew the end of this sentence was going to be ridiculous. "The carnage we're going to witness at the end of this year-"

He laughed malevolently as the other boys - bar Joshua - voiced their very loud objections to him.

"Oh don't be an idiot already!"

"I meant the party we're going to have. You took it there!"

Max pointed at Albus, doubled over with laughter as the Potter blushed.

"Oh look, he's blushing!" Joshua cackled, and Scorpius couldn't help laugh alongside them.

"I'm sorry Al," he said from behind his hand, "but he's right."

Albus rolled his eyes and looked away from them all to Alfie for support. Alfie, the very tall, mousey haired, seventh brother of his wizarding family, was usually the voice of reason amongst them all. "Max is vulgar and we all know what he meant," Alfie's face split into a tremulous grin, "but he's right, you look like a bit of a knob right now."

A knock on their door brought their laughter to an end and Albus heaved a sigh of relief.

"It's midget herding time." James cocked his head over to the car door as the train got slower and slower until it was crawling along. He was about to leave when he spotted Albus. "What in the name of Merlin's bollocks did you do to Al?" He didn't sound angry, not at all - just slightly incredulous that he might've been jinxed so early into the school year.

"Just thinking about girls, James." Joshua winked with a satisfied grin and James snorted. "We've all been there, Al. Just don't make it so painfully obvious, alright?"

Albus rolled his eyes. "Cheers, James."

James nodded with a grin and moved on further down the train. Albus surveyed them all. "Dickheads" he mumbled under his breath.

"Sorry Al, but that one was coming a mile off."

Albus narrowed his eyes at Scorpius. "You let me walk right into that trap, you wa-"

"Yeah, alright. Calm down." Alfie called over the pair. "Al, we were all thinking it - you just said it. Scorpius, bugger off already."

Scorpius pushed himself up and stretched. He nodded at Albus, who rolled his eyes at him, and then he picked his way between the outstretched limbs littering the carriage to the door. They'd all grown a significant amount over the summer; and yet Alfie was _still_ the tallest of them all.

"Alright boys, I've got some first years to shepherd." Scorpius cracked back his knuckles and stretched out his arms. Max snorted at his ridiculousness. "Wish me luck!" He called behind himself.

"We'll wish _them_ luck." He heard Joshua intone. Scorpius stuck two fingers up behind him as he left to gather at one of the train's doors. A couple of fourth and fifth years he didn't really recognise were gathered there already, but frankly, they didn't matter.

"Hi, Rose!" He greeted jovially, taking an awkward sidestep to stand next to her. She eyed him dubiously out of the corner of her beautiful brown eyes.

"Hello, Malfoy." Her tone was full of suspicion. "Good summer?"

"Quiet, but pleasant. Yours?"

"Loud, but pleasant." She was talking so stiffly it almost made Scorpius want to curl up and die somewhere. His intestines certainly felt like they'd done that. "Read all of this year's books yet?"

"Naturally." He declared. "And yourself?"

"I'm offended that you'd insinuate otherwise."

He smiled to himself, and caught himself sounding remarkably like his father as he laughed softly through his nose. She didn't need to know that he'd only _almost_ finished their Herbology book.

The train came to a definite standstill, and the doors opened.

"Make sure you don't direct them the wrong way, this year."

Scorpius spluttered. "Wha-Bu-That was one time!"

He was almost sure he heard Rose laugh as she disappeared into the crisp September evening, and they took their places to get the first years successfully to their boats. Hopefully, none of them fell into the lake this year. By 'them', of course, he meant the prefects.

* * *

 _I hope you enjoyed that! Again, I really welcome feedback/criticism of all kinds (although I'd obviously prefer it if you were nice!). Please review if you've got time and follow for more. Thanks!_


	2. The Ball, Reborn

_**Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter.**_

 _Hello again everyone! I'm sorry I'm a couple hours late - we're having a few storms right now in the U.K. and a thunderclap shook my house and the wifi died. I wish I were joking. But alas as I am not, that's why I'm a bit late posting this week. Sorry!_

 _Anyway, I'd like to thank MLMarint, HarryPotterFanHermione, Guest, C.S and Son of Whitbeard so, so much for your reviews! I'd also like to thank everyone who's favourited and followed so far; it means an immeasurable amount to me and I'm really grateful for all your positive comments. I hope I can live up to your expectations and I'll strive to do so._

 _Enjoy!_

* * *

 _Chapter 2: The Ball, Reborn_

The Prefects were always the last people to arrive at the feast. Covered in a spattering of mud from the soggy earth around the lake, Scorpius traipsed in with Sophia Davis and scanned the Slytherin table for his friends. Alfie raised a hand and waved, beckoning Scorpius over. Delightfully, he realised he was facing Rose as he slid onto the bench next to Albus, even if she was sitting two tables over. That seemed to be about as close as she ever got. Their gazes briefly met over the hall and his stomach dropped a mile, but she broke off eye contact almost immediately. He watched her for a moment as she talked to Samuel Millar next to her and they shared a joke. She really was beautiful when she smiled. Headmaster McGonagall stood and held up a hand that immediately silenced the entire hall in one moment, startling Scorpius out of his daze, and the whole room fell still.

"Good evening. Welcome back to Hogwarts for the start of another year. I have a few announcements to make, but they are reserved for later." The doors of the Great Hall burst open and Professor Henrich, the deputy headmaster and utter twat of the century, led a procession of first years with the sorting hat and a tiny wooden stool in his hands. "I now welcome the First Years. May the sorting ceremony begin."

She sat down, adjusting the jaunty tartan hat atop her head as the first years came to a halt before the Teacher's table. Placing the old hat down on the stool, Professor Henrich pulled out a scroll of parchment from his pocket. Straight-backed, relatively young and stern, he was the Transfiguration Professor, and Merlin was he brutal. He'd dock you twenty points if he thought you couldn't get the spell because you were 'messing around'. Joshua had been an absolute menace to the Slytherin point score because of this.

The sorting hat, once comfortably nestled on its wooden stool, opened at the broad, mouth-like rip and began to sing. Scorpius was sure he heard a first-year squeak at the shock. Scorpius had sort of learnt the knack for zoning out during these songs over the years, resting his head in his hand. They weren't good songs, anyway - it just told you about the houses and their founders. You would've thought that it'd come up with something unique or innovative if it'd been sitting in McGonagall's desk for a year with nothing else to do.

He wondered what his father was doing now. Hopefully, he was cooking himself food, or reading the paper with his feet up before the fire. He thought back to when he was younger, when his mother would spend the days occupying him and teaching him everything Joshua said they taught you at muggle school, and then he'd play with his father in the evening. It was a quiet house, much too big for the three of them, but it had been home.

He exhaled a long sigh through his nose. There was Rose, sitting with rapt attention, as always. Her hair was curling down her back in beautiful ringlets, moving with every breath she took. She twitched her small nose with an itch, and licked her lips - pink, pretty, and delicate. She always had more freckles than usual when they went back to school, which faded from across her nose over winter then came back with the sun when late spring arrived. She was blinking slowly; full, long eyelashes making her eyes look so dark and beautiful and sincere, even from almost across the hall. She was raising her hands together now; which always looked better with a wand in them, although…

"Scor!" Albus nudged him, and the applause in the hall rang loudly in his ears very suddenly. "She's my _cousin_. Get a room or leave off!"

"Sorry, sorry." He mumbled, moving stiffly and joining in with the dying applause. Alfie was looking at him with a knowing but still somehow smug grin, and Max and Joshua were laughing. "Oh shut it. You just wait, and I'll get you back."

"Right."

"Whatever you say, Scor," Joshua replied, cooly. He had a point - both Max and Joshua were never short of a date when needed, being generally attractive but smooth and suave enough to ask out whoever they wanted. That was Slytherin ambition for you.

Silence fell again as Professor Henrich picked up the hat, and read the first name from his scroll.

"Andrews, Elenor"

The girl looked like little more than a speck from where they were sitting.

"Are they always this short?"

"I dunno." Max shrugged. "I can't imagine Alfie was ever that short." He nodded to their tall friend, his head markedly above Max'.

Elenor Andrews went to Ravenclaw with restrained, adequate, snobbish applause which looked all the more stupid for 'Avery, Charlie' going to the Gryffindor table with thunderous clamour. The sorting ceremony never seemed to get shorter, and the five were restless by the time they were finished. Scorpius only really picked up on a few people; a Slytherin girl, Katie Elliott, who nervously sat at the very edge of the table, shyly smiling at her new housemates. And then there was Lacey Wood, who he guessed was also a daughter of Oliver Wood. He was the famous England Quidditch coach, and she had to be his daughter, considering how much she looked like her fifth-year brother, Daniel, who she joined at the Hufflepuff table.

"That's our future chances against Hufflepuff screwed," Albus mumbled.

Max shrugged. "We'll be gone by the time she's on the team. Leave it for the midgets to sort out."

Albus was interrupted in a scathing reply by McGonagall.

"Now that we have all our first years sorted, let us settle in. I am glad to see so many faces that are happy to be back and ready for the year to begin. I hope you have all had excellent summers," even as McGonagall said the words, he found it hard to believe she meant them. He'd heard she could be a kind lady when she wanted - but he wasn't Gryffindor enough for that. "But I won't delay what we all really want. Let the feast begin."

With a wave of her hands, finally, _thankfully_ , the food appeared before their desperately hungry eyes.

"Thank _fuck_!" Albus sighed, which caught a sharp look from the nearby Poppy Creevey. Scorpius had never quite got why she was going out with James, but he guessed she must be amazing in bed. Or something. He again realised that he just didn't care halfway through the steak and kidney pie in front of him. James had been out with loads of girls but he never seemed to care about any of them - so why should he?

"We've got to go and thank Winky and the others." Alfie declared, sighing around a mouth half-full of mashed potatoes.

Scorpius nodded his head enthusiastically in response. He and Albus had ended up in the kitchens once, following the weird map he'd knicked from his dad's desk one summer, where Winky had made quite the scene. Apparently, she was confused over how her old friend Dobby's master could be here when he was so much older now. And, one explanation of his family later, Winky had sworn herself indebted to Albus and his good friend Scorpius too, since her best friend had been so fond of his father and she'd worked with Kreacher, too. So it'd become quite easy for them to get food, and when, in their fifth year, they started being invited to the common room parties and joined the Quidditch team, they could populate the room with food so deftly they were matched in skill only by Fred Weasley.

The main course slipped down happily, and dessert followed soon after - treacle tart, chocolate fondue, Albus' favourite cheesecake and the butterscotch tart that made Scorpius salivate whenever he thought about it.

"Oh. My. Merlin." Scorpius sighed, looking at it happily on his plate.

Max rolled his eyes. "Get a room, Scor."

"Oh, I think I will." He took a small bite, and closed his eyes, happily. He moaned with delight.

Albus inched away. "I do not need to see this."

"I don't care, I'd abandon you all for this." He continued to eat it, savouring every bite.

"Oh really? Even Rose?" Joshua mumbled with a self-satisfied grin on his face.

Scorpius deadpanned. "I don't even know what she tastes like, and I'd abandon this for her."

He grinned at Albus' scrunched up, slightly revolted face. "Oh, come on! She. Is. My _cousin_!"

Scorpius shrugged. "Better than your sister."

"Oh, seriously!" Albus' face contorted grossly, looking utterly revolted.

"To be fair, someone thinks of your sister like that." Max intoned helpfully.

"And I hear she's quite popular too." Scorpius couldn't help himself, the look on Albus' face was just too funny.

Albus took the last slice of butterscotch tart off Scorpius' plate and ate it with a smug grin.

Scorpius was about to retaliate with the fork in his hand when Headmaster McGonagall stood again, and the hall fell to a grudging silence, plates cleared and conversations came to a screeching to a halt.

"Before I let you all go off to bed, I have a few words to say. As with every year, I must start with some notices. Firstly, that students must obey Mr Filch's orders: stay away from the Forbidden Forest, and the majority of Weasley's Wizard Wheezes' products are banned. Please consult the board outside Mr Flich's office on the ground floor of the east wing for the full list."

Scorpius noticed a grin pass between Joshua and Max. They'd been involved in an incident in their first year with Mrs Norris, a ghost, and a puking pastel. The story had been quickly woven into Hogwarts legend. Mostly because anyone who saw it couldn't quite get the image of a ghost being sprayed with cat sick out of their minds.

"Anyone who wishes to apply to their House's Quidditch team may give their name to their head of House, although only Gryffindor and Ravenclaw have vacancies this year. The Quidditch Cup will be running as usual this year and, as with each time we hold the Tournament, all the teachers give our best luck to each house."

Professor Heinrich's raised left eyebrow said otherwise.

"Furthermore, House points will be awarded and taken away all year long - and the winner of the most points at the end of the year will win the House Cup. A reminder that the cup is currently in Ravenclaw's hands."

She fell silent, which meant that they were about to be released back to their dormitories. Scorpius was about to tell Albus something that he'd forgotten until now what with the food and Rose - that his father had actually _asked_ for letters this year — but McGonagall carried on talking.

"For many of us, there is a memory instilled in our minds of a time of complete house-unity. A day when one's House, school, and country didn't matter. House stripped away, new friendships were forged, and the world at Hogwarts briefly became a different place. " The Headmaster fell silent, surveying the grand hall with pursed lips. Ever since their third year, McGonagall had been banging on about house unity without an end. He got the point - he really did - but Scorpius thought they'd all got the message by now. Besides, it's the year 2020 already. You've got to be a pretty massive dick to bully someone based on their house and house alone. That being said, he did know several fairly massive dicks. "On that note, I have some news regarding a new event." Scorpius furrowed his brow and shared a quick look with Albus, who usually knew everything that happened at Hogwarts - through Hagrid, who told his dad, who told his mum, who Lily overheard, who told him and James. But Albus looked just as clueless as him. "Twenty-eight years ago, we held the Triwizard Tournament at this school." A general murmur of interest fluttered through the crowd. "Whilst we are not at all going to be re-commencing the games, there was one aspect of the tournament that still resonates very dearly in all our hearts here at the staff end of Hogwarts.

"The Yule Ball." There was a slight sigh of disappointment from the boys around Scorpius, but he listened with baited breath. He always had been a romantic at heart - and everyone around him knew it. "It was a night of happiness before a storm of sorrow. A chance for us all to forget about Houses, class rankings, tests and any other pressures. And so we have decided to host a similar event this year; the Phoenix Ball."

There was a smattering of applause as Headmaster McGonagall broke from her usually austere expression into a smile, as she looked back along the applauding staff table. Well, at least if the students would rather die than be there, the staff would have fun. "The ball will be held on the last weekend of the winter term, and we will pass out more details through your prefects soon. Now, off to bed with you all."

She nodded her head and sat back down, and with a wave of her hand, everyone in the hall was up amidst a storm of chatter and benches screeching across the floor. Rounding up the first years, the seventh year prefects took them on the fancier, more elaborate route to the dungeons that showed off more of Hogwarts to the wide-eyed muggle-borns amongst them. They didn't have that many muggle-borns in Slytherin, even now, but the number was going up. Hufflepuff still had the most Muggle-borns of any of the houses, however, and Ravenclaw always seemed to have the most half-bloods. Joshua would know; he'd snogged half of both houses.

They collapsed in their usual corner of the common room that they'd adopted last year - two sofas, roughly perpendicular to each other, both emerald green and extremely squishy. A low coffee table sat between them, the black surface polished so thoroughly that the nearby fireplace's flames reflected in the table's surface. Most students, especially the younger ones, had immediately gone to the dormitories; through the corridors on the left-hand arches of the common room, and up the branching stairs. There were seven levels of dormitories, each higher than the next, and every year they were at Hogwarts their dormitory rose to a higher and higher level. The perk being, that when you reached seventh year, you'd get a beautiful view over the top of the lake and no longer have to deal with seaweed and limpets sticking to your windows.

"Can you imagine the commute we've got now we're sixth years?" Max asked, half to the air, half to the four boys around him.

Joshua made a face. "Ugh. Six flights of stairs."

Max and Alfie groaned in unison, and even Scorpius couldn't resist a sigh. Quidditch did wonders for the physique, true, but six flights was a hell of a lot of stairs. Especially on a full stomach. Especially when Joshua was inevitably late to his first class.

Albus sniggered. "Oh well. At least the view of the lake will be less creepy than first year." The boys laughed.

"That's true. The depths of the lake are pretty bloody terrifying, what with all the gryndilows and creepy monsters floating by." Joshua shivered. There was a reason why he wasn't in Gryffindor.

"Remember that one night when you screamed so loud that you woke us all up?"

"I seem to remember it was seaweed in the end, too."

Joshua rolled his eyes. "Why don't they put the stupid Gryffindors in here? At least they're brave."

Scorpius shrugged. "At least our common room isn't going to get attacked by a dragon."

"That happened?"

"That happened. 1994, Triwizard Tournament."

Albus snorted. No doubt he'd heard the story.

The other four Slytherin boys in their year passed by soon after they got there. Mo, Ethan, Aneil and Patrick. Scorpius didn't know any of their surnames - but he didn't know any of them well at all. Max and Joshua had been better friends with them until fourth year. They didn't stop to talk, and none of them begrudged them for it.

The five of them sat in silence for a while, mostly zoning out, as Scorpius schemed to himself.

"Scorpius?"

"Yes?"

Joshua pushed himself upright, a renewed sense of panic lighting up his eyes. "They had to bring a date to the Yule Ball, didn't they?"

"You bet."

He launched himself back into the cushions. "Bollocks." Groaning, he clamped his hands over his face and dragged them down, slowly.

"It's not our fault you snogged and dumped your way through most of the nice girls." Max jibed.

"Oh shut it, arsehole." Joshua kicked Max just below the kneecap from across the sofa. "You've done it too."

Alfie laughed at the pair. "Well, at least the three of us should have a wider selection than you two."

Albus snorted. "'Should' is the key word there. Now in reality…" Albus glanced between Alfie and Scorpius. They all knew that of all the boys in their dorm, they had the least luck with the ladies. Scorpius had never had a girlfriend because, well, he was occupied with Rose. Albus was too unpopular and had only been snogged once, by a very drunk Mia Clarke at last year's end of year Slytherin party. Alfie had only ever been out with Sabrina Gregg, and he'd kept surprisingly mum about the entire thing. Suspiciously so, in fact.

"Oh, you know who I'm asking already." Scorpius shrugged, pushing himself up from the couch.

"Seriously? You know it's just going to be embarrassing." Joshua looked at him sceptically.

"Ah, you are wrong there my friend. It's only going to be embarrassing at first, and then eventually rewarding. Just you watch." He smirked, vaulting over the sofa and walking towards the dormitories.

"Cunning and ambition is man's greatest addition." Max snorted, torn between laughing and rolling his eyes.

Scorpius just turned his back on them, walking towards the dormitories and sticking two fingers up at them on each hand. They'd see. He was sure. He had a… plan.

* * *

Scorpius yawned as he entered their dorm room. It was dark, with the eerie greenish glow of the lake giving the room an ominous look. He made a beeline for his bed, stripped out of his robes and into his pyjamas, and sat down on the comfortable mattress. It made a crunching sound. Confused, he reached behind himself and felt a letter brush against his fingertips, the paper smooth and cold against the soft, warm bedsheets. He frowned. Lighting his wand, he held his it up and let a dim glow spread over the envelope.

 _Scorpius_.

Only his name appeared on the starched paper. The writing was short, curt, and written in the heavy black lacquer his father usually reserved for his official documents. He did always know how to add that personal touch.

Eagerly, he slid his fingers under the envelope lip and pulled out the slip of parchment inside.

 _Scorpius,_

 _I know that life at Hogwarts was very hard for you, and I know I cannot express how much that hurt me to see. But I want you to enjoy the life that is slowly getting better for you. You still have time Scorpius, so use that Slytherin ambition for good and chase after whatever will make you happy._

 _Please, don't worry about me. Life has been hard since your mother_ — the word was obscured here — _but I'm doing fine. You'd hear about it if I didn't go to work, and there are people who check that I'm taking care of myself. Your mother was a marvellous woman, Scorpius, but we need to learn how to live without her. You've been doing great until now, and I'll be playing catch up to you until you come home for Christmas. I'll even try to sort out the paintwork._

 _Remember to live as you want to, Scorpius, because you won't get this time again._

 _Take care of yourself._

 _Your father._

It sounded practised and slightly stiff, but Scorpius had spent years learning and trying to read between the lines of his father's words. He think he got it, now. That his father loved him really - probably as much as Scorpius loved his father - and that he was _trying_. He hated it, that they couldn't just go back to the normal days even for a moment, but he couldn't ask for any more than the effort his father was so clearly putting in.

"Alright there, lover-boy?"

Scorpius looked up from the letter quickly. "Huh?"

"Oh my, Scorpius Malfoy not folding up his clothes-?" Joshua pointed to the pile of haphazardly strewn clothes on his bed and gasped exaggeratedly, "are we in a new reality?"

He forced a grin. "Yeah. One where we're all actually cool."

Joshua snorted as Scorpius shoved the letter under his pillow. "Speak for yourself."

"Don't rub it in," Scorpius said through a yawn, stretching and getting up to fold up his clothes. It was true, though. Joshua and Max were considered, by most, to be cool. If not cool, then acceptable. It almost went without saying that they were far more popular than Scorpius and Albus - although that wasn't hard. They'd been the last two to join Scorpius, Albus, and by then Alfie as friends. Before their fourth year, only Alfie ever really hung out in the dormitory, and that was just because he could talk to anyone if he wanted to. Things had been icy, but at least after fourth year, Scorpius had a place in Hogwarts he felt safe in.

"I swear you were born into the wrong body. Shoulda been a house elf."

Scorpius let out a short laugh. He couldn't help himself. It would've been nice to know what it might be like to not feel the compulsion to tidy up everywhere all the time - simply for the reason that no one else would. He'd effectively been an orphan for almost a year, and he sometimes wished he'd never felt all that weight on his shoulders. What life might have been like, had his mother not had that blood curse.

He'd probably have turned out more like Albus.

"Letter from your dad?" Scorpius looked up at Joshua, who was hovering in the half-light of Scorpius' lumos spell. The bright light made his eyes glow eerily green, and his brown hair looked almost blonde. He gave Scorpius an uneasy smile and clapped him on the shoulder. "I get it."

Scorpius nodded thankfully. Joshua's mum had left not long after he was born - Merlin knew why, Joshua never talked about it - so he and his younger half-sister had been raised by his muggle dad, alone. He was touchy about it. When he'd turned his sister's hair orange by accident when he was nine, he said he'd thought he'd gone crazy, and instead of the joy that often came with children expressing magical powers for the first time, he'd been terrified. Even though he was a half-blood, he may as well have been a Muggle-born. He'd heard more than his fair share of jokes at his expense, and it'd taken until fourth year for him to properly blow up at someone over it. "Families, huh?" Scorpius slid the letter back into the envelope.

Joshua grinned. "Yours is the most fucked up I know of."

"Cheers, it's the biggest compliment I could've dreamed of."

He chuckled, moved across the room to his bed. "But we're all friends, Scor. You know what friends do."

Scorpius didn't have to say anything out loud. With a smile to his friend and pulling the drapes around his bed down, he knew. Even though they may seem to bicker all the time on the outside, each one of them would probably go to the ends of the earth for the rest.

Even if they only went to the other side of the Forbidden Forest, it was enough for Scorpius.

* * *

 _Please review if you've got time and follow for more. Thanks!_


	3. Door Handles and Pumpkin Juice

**_Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter_**

 _Okay so I looked at my schedule for the next month or so and how fast I'm writing so far, and I've decided to bump the update schedule to every Friday instead of every other Friday! I'll update my note on the first chapter to reflect this._

 _Thanks indeed to MLMarint and SonofWhitebeard (I'm sorry! I typoed your name last chapter by accident T.T) for your reviews again. I've really lucky to have you both as such active readers and I'm happy that you're liking this fic so far!_

 _Enjoy!_

* * *

 _Chapter 3: Door Handles and Pumpkin Juice_

 _The fire was roaring quietly._

 _The fire roared quietly, because there were cries overpowering the crackling whips of flame._

So, it was this dream again.

 _Scorpius looked away from the fire and over towards the door he knew would be just behind his left shoulder. He was in the sitting room adjoined to his parent's bedroom. The room was dark; it was a cold, sleety day and almost nightfall at that. The windows were wet with dripping condensation._

 _He felt sick. Blood seemed to well at the back of his mouth. He could taste it like his throat had been slit open. So, the moment had come. They'd all known it was impending but this felt far too soon._

 _He took a gulp, but his throat was unlubricated by saliva. He tried to breathe, but his lungs were too small. It was so, so noisy. His feet ached when he took a step forwards. He could feel the carpet vividly between his toes. It itched, the way that things that'd been there for three hundred years often did._

 _The cries were loud, almost deafening. They seemed to come from everywhere - not just through the door. The whole house seemed to be wailing and screaming from the very fabric of the walls and floors. He reached up a hand to the glimmering brass doornob, but he couldn't touch it. He wanted to yell in frustration, but no sound came out. Tears welled in his eyes._

 _He reached up again and missed. He looked down and was suddenly aware he was just a tiny blip compared with the door. The size of that girl in the sorting ceremony; impossibly short. He reached up again with extra force and felt the cold metal in his clammy hand._

 _The door swung open._

 _He was tall again, almost leering over the scene. Now he was floating over it, watching a lonely child and a weeping man and a dead, cold woman on a bed._

Scorpius awoke with a bang.

A Friday morning, chilly and dark. Albus gave a pathetic groan in the bed across from Scorpius, and squinted at him with miserable green eyes. Typical, how in the mornings he'd beg for the weekend, even if it was only the first day of term.

Scorpius had had that dream a hundred times or more. He always went from a child in the sitting room to a mere spectator as soon as the door opened, even in his memories. He gave a shudder which couldn't dislogdge the lethargy that'd settled over his heart. It had been, without question, the worst day of his whole, short, occasionally miserable but mostly enjoyable, life. What do you even do after the brightest light in your life goes out?

You carry on, that's what.

"I'm up!" He yelled, but only got unhappy groans as a reply.

"Shut it, Scor." Came Max's gruff reply - all the harsher for how thick and groggy his voice was this early in the morning.

It was only seven-thirty; Scorpius didn't see the problem.

"Merlin's beard you sound like you went on a bender last night." Scorpius snorted, drawing the curtains from around his bed.

The Slytherin dormitories were pleasant, but ever so slightly chilly. The ceiling, painted silver, was enchanted to appear as though it was far above their heads, and three small silver chandeliers hung on fine chains around the circular room. Each four poster bed was not quite a single, nor a double, but a comfortable size in between. He stretched, stood, slipped his feet into his comfy hippogriff slippers, and padded down to the bathroom, shared between all male students, on the bottom floor with the first year dormitories. Itching his weary eyes, he slowly pulled himself together for the morning, ridding himself of that dream, and finally being somewhat awake and a hell of a lot fresher looking when he got back to their room.

He opened the door to witness a fairly typical scene; Albus and Alfie, now awake enough to be out of bed, were pulling Max out of his bed as Joshua watched with a hint of a smirk, hurriedly pulling his robes on. Even though Max was always the last to get out of bed, Joshua was the last to make it to class.

"Get out of bed you lazy sod!" Albus roared, eyes flashing between laughter and irritation. Let it never be said that Albus wasn't the most patient of people.

"Oh, you absolute lump." Alfie dropped Max's arm so suddenly that the momentum launched him out of bed head first.

Max roared in pain. "You fucking _fucker_! What'd you do that for!?" He cried, holding his head in his hands and whining like a kicked puppy.

"Oh shit." Alfie gasped, hands clamped over his mouth. "I'm sorry!"

Max threw his head back against his mattress, moaning. "My head! It burns." He groaned, hazel eyes very slightly hazy. But as Albus, the only one amongst them who knew anything at all about healing, had given him a once over and shrugged, Scorpius wasn't too concerned. "Alright." He sighed, placing his hands on the ground either side of him, and taking a deep breath. "I'm up." He pushed himself up to his full height, hands briefly up in surrender before they went to his head and he stumbled slightly. "Now piss off around while I get changed."

Scorpius just laughed and turned back to his own bed, changing into his robes himself. He had no desire to watch Max change, anyway.

"That means you, too!" He heard Max shout, and Alfie replied with annoyed mumbles and a creative string of swear words a moment later.

Only a few moments later the group left their room for breakfast and clambered down all six flights of stairs to the common room.

"Sabrina!" Scorpius called to the small auburn girl hanging around at the foot of the girl's staircase. He'd always had a soft spot for her; Alfie had introduced them all in third year when they'd just become friends, and it'd made getting through Charms a hell of a lot easier. Sure, it wasn't much by most standards of humanity, but Scorpius had always appreciated it. She turned to face him and smiled.

"Scorpius! Alfie, Albus!" Max huffed, and Joshua sucked in a breath between his teeth. "How are you all doing?"

"We're doing pretty well thanks. How was your summer?" It was Alfie who replied and, as he watched the two talk, Scorpius marvelled that exes could get along so well. Albus and Scorpius were, of course, ignored or insulted almost unianimusly no matter who they passed, but Joshua was completely ignored when he walked near a group of girls they knew, and people mumbled things about Max behind his back. Only Alfie had that enviable skill for being able to talk to pretty much whoever he wanted.

No one knew exactly what happened between Alfie and Sabrina. No one ever asked. They'd spent entire days together in Hogsmeade, been spotted looking cosy in the library and apparently, there'd been some drunken hi-jinx at last year's party, too - although, no one believed Mia Clarke, and especially not an utterly hammered Mia who'd just snogged Albus, either. But Alfie hadn't ever spoken about it, so none of them ever asked. They supposed that they got it, understood, and when the two seemed to stop hanging out so much after the party last year, the knowing smirks were hastily extinguished.

Breakfast today smelt just as good as always. Scorpius' stomach rumbled, and he laid a hand over it, smiling at the smell of bacon, and fried eggs, and beautiful friend bread and…

"Scor?" Albus asked, prodding him the back.

Scorpius snapped from his daze. "What?"

"You stopped."

"Oh."

"Weirdo." That voice was _not_ Albus. That voice was so, so much more delightful.

"Morning, Rose."

"Morning, Al." She glanced over at Scorpius, who was beaming at her hopefully. "Malfoy."

"Morning!" He couldn't think of anything else. What else could he say? He was fully aware of how stupid he sounded, but he couldn't seem to do anything about it. Words just tumbled out like verbal diarrhoea. "Um, you look nice today. You know, for the morning. Because it's so early, and…?"

She frowned, looking at him as though he were an exhibit of curiosity in a zoo. "Wow. That was something."

Scorpius was saved from his stupid spluttering and Albus' irritating cackle by James Potter calling him from behind.

"Scorpius! I've got a present for you." He jogged over and slapped a scroll of parchment into his unready hand. See, that was the kind of smoothness he needed to somehow osmose from the universe. "The terms of the Phoenix Ball. Put it up in the common room later, yeah? Oh, and rounds will go up soon, but you're with Grace Hill, I think. Rose, you're with Harry Shaw." He winked at Scorpius, before jogging off again in that effortlessly cool way he knew had a lot of effort put into it.

"I'll see you later, Al!" He called back to his brother, before being waylaid by Poppy Creevey. Scorpius eyed the pair with a hint of morbid fascination as James immediately tried to wriggle free of her arms. Scorpius had doubted for quite a while that they had a happy relationship.

"He looks happy to see her," Scorpius said, halfway between sarcasm and naive optimism. Rose laughed at him - actually laughed! - and turned away from the display.

"Later, Al. Malfoy."

She turned and left with a wave of her hand, and Scorpius had briefly forgotten both breakfast and the fact that Albus had stolen the scroll from his hand.

"Huh, we do have to bring dates. Well." Albus rolled up the scroll and slapped it back in Scorpius' hand, because Merlin knows he hadn't moved in a while. " _Shit_ ". He walked off to the Slytherin table to join their friends, thumping Scorpius on the back with a depressive sigh. Scorpius soon after snapped out of his daze and hurried over to join them, scanning the scroll in his hand.

 _The Phoenix Ball_

 _The date will be 18th December._

 _Attendance is not compulsory but highly encouraged._

 _Equally highly encouraged is the invitation of partners to the Ball._

 _Prefects are released from their duties for the night, although good behaviour is still an unspoken expectation._

 _The dress code is dress robes, which must be neat and smart._

Short, blunt, and it filled the pit of his stomach with a layer of dread. As if he didn't already have enough to deal with this year. He was interrupted from his moping by Max sliding slip of parchment in front of him from his right-hand side."But Max, I was having such a good morning until now!"

Max let out a dry, unenthusiastic and uninterested laugh in response. Slughorn had, it seemed, continued his yearly tradition of minimal contact with his students. Never personally distributing the timetables, as all the other Head of Houses did, he gave the stack to the nearest and most nervous looking first year. Said first year then gave them to a fifth year after trying and massively failing to figure out who people were, based on sheer luck. That fifth year inevitably then just passed them down the table until they ended up in a messy pile in the middle somewhere. It was a matter of searching for your own and hoping no one else took it as a funny 'joke'. That particular joke had been pulled on Scorpius and Albus for three years in a row which was hilarious, until you realised you were bound to end up missing Professor Henrich's first lesson. Scorpius watched the Transfiguration professor eat stoically at the Professor's table. They met eyes and Scorpius shivered under the icy silver glare.

Creepy.

It was typical Slughorn behaviour, leaving the students to figure it all out for themselves, but not behaviour Scorpius didn't appreciate. The potions master was quite old, after all, and he did seem to have trouble remembering names - although it was Joshua's strong suspicion that he simply didn't care. That was probably because Joshua was also absolutely appalling at potions.

Scorpius looked down at the timetable before him and smiled to himself.

"Please don't tell me you're satisfied with that monstrosity?" Albus asked, incredulously. "I swear, you're either in the wrong house or mental."

Scorpius snorted. "Oh yeah, Mouse Heart here and I were actually bound for Gryffindor. The Sorting Hat's just gone a bit senile in old age."

Joshua choked on his pumpkin juice. "Oi! It's perfectly rational to be scared of the ghosts! More than you and the giant squid!"

Scorpius was about to argue back before Max came back and placed Joshua's timetable before him with a flourish. " _Pour vous, monsieur_."

"You went to France for a week, mate. You didn't emigrate."

Looking over his timetable again, Scorpius tuned out the two as they bickered backwards and forwards

"Seriously, though, are you actually going to survive this year?" Alfie asked, head slightly tilted in that endearing way he did when he was sincerely trying to look out for you. It's a good job they had him because otherwise they would've all grown up nearly as twisted as Max.

Scorpius only shrugged in response. It wasn't that bad. Although it was normal to take four, or perhaps five N.E. , Scorpius had found himself willing and able to sit six in total. Potions, of course, and History of Magic, along with Charms, Herbology, Transfiguration and Alchemy. Because, hey, there was no better way to prove that you and your father were repenting for the sins of the past than taking History of Magic at N.E.W.T level. That they never even dared to touch the explosive parcel that was the recent past in classes didn't seem to matter when at least three colleagues had softened to his father as the news had spread.

Albus hummed next to him, comparing their timetables. He was taking five N.E. - Defence Against the Dark Arts, Potions, Alchemy, Herbology and Charms. Albus knew he was never going to follow in his father's footsteps with these classes and become the Auror it was obvious James was going to be. But Albus had never really cared, anyway. Dumbledore only knew what Albus wanted to do. Fade into quiet obscurity was probably the best answer.

"Look, triple potions this afternoon." Albus pointed to the row of three hours, stretching from lunch until dinner time, and flipped off Max as he made a wretching sound. "That's better than what-?" He pulled Max' timetable over to himself. "Better than double Care of Magical Creatures. Oh- and twice a week! Wow, I really can't think of any way I'd rather spend my time!"

"Whatever. You're just jealous of the fact that _I_ get all the girls with the unicorn foals. _"_

Albus and Max 'debated' the effects of unicorn foals on girls all the way through breakfast. Scorpius couldn't help but wonder what Rose was taking. If he could get into her classes, he could talk to her more. Because Scorpius may only be able to stand like a limp fish when seeing her on a daily basis, but in the classroom, and in the library, Scorpius was in his element. He was confident; he knew what he was doing. He could talk to her more in the quieter, N.E.W.T-sized classes too. Get to know her - well, it was more _her_ getting to know him - and then he could ask her to go to the ball with him. A thoroughly water-tight plan that couldn't _possibly_ go wrong.

Based on how he imagined Albus' face would look when he said that he had a plan to get with his favourite cousin, he could start to see one or two issues cropping up. He was also basically saying 'I want to fuck your cousin', after all, which tended to have less than positive reactions. Everyone knew it, but given how low the chances seemed right now, Albus didn't care. If it looked more likely, then Merlin knew what his reaction might be. Even now, despite all Scorpius' hopes, he'd never really thought what being with Rose might be like. What the implications might be. Not that he really had a shot anyway, but he didn't want to think about any repercussions, either. He was happy with the fantasy and just a little gust of hope, or maybe idiocy, tickling the back of his mind, let him give in to his wildest dreams.

The food around them vanished; breakfast time was over. It seemed like it just wasn't in the stars for him to actually be able to think about these things just yet.

* * *

The first day of Hogwarts was always a washout. Especially when you had three hours of Slughorn, and he only pinned up a notice on the door that told you to go and 'read your books'. What books exactly they were, nobody quite knew. But it did lead to a pleasurable hour for Albus and Scorpius as they lay out in the few remaining rays of summer sun and discussed the second most exciting thing about this year: Apparition.

"My mum told me dad almost threw up the first time he side-along apparated."

Scorpius grimaced. "Yikes. That's a bad reaction. There was only one time when I thought I might throw up, although, I guess I'm just used to it now."

Albus turned to his friend, a frown on his face. "What?"

"I apparate to King's Cross every year now."

"Oh. I forgot about that. I just kinda assumed everyone went in cars."

"Well, not all of us live somewhere close enough to London to drive."

"Wiltshire's an hour away, mate." Albus sniggered.

"It is?"

"I have no idea. Maybe - hey, look," Albus pointed at the sky, "that cloud looks like those ugly books Hagrid made us get in third year."

Scorpius huffed. "Fine. But what about Alfie? Lives in the bloody highlands, doesn't he?"

"And still doesn't sound at all Scottish."

"Careful, he might threaten to cast Rictusempra on you again." Scorpius laughed.

"You laugh, but it's bloody painful. It's Teddy's go to curse."

"A wizard of age, cursing you outside of Hogwarts? Phone child line!" He gasped in mock-horror.

Scorpius spotted a cloud that looked vaguely like a rabbit in the following silence. Although now it drifted further by, maybe it looked more like a squat, fat dragon.

"What's a 'child's line'?"

"No idea. I think Joshua said it once."

"Oh. You know, we really should know more about Muggles, considering."

"Eh?"

Albus didn't get a chance to reply before a huge black shadow fell over them. Scorpius looked up, briefly flashing back to first year and fearing the worst.

"Albus! Scorpius! 'Ow're yeh both doin'?" Scorpius and Albus seemed to bolt upright simultaneously at the booming voice.

"Hagrid!" Albus beamed in delight, rushing to his feet. Whilst Scorpius had truly had nobody but Albus for all of their first year and some of their second, Albus had at least had Hagrid as well. When the two had fought, because _of course_ they'd fought, Albus spent time in Hagrid's hut and Scorpius whiled away the hours alone in the library. Albus was extremely warm with Hagrid; he may as well have been his godfather. Although now he thought about it, he seemed to remember that he _was_ Lily's godfather.

Scorpius gave Hagrid a shy smile and tried not to yelp as Hagrid almost shook his arm off. "Good summer?"

Scorpius shrugged. "You know, the usual. Bit quiet with just the two of us."

Hagrid nodded, and gave a sympathetic smile. "It's tough, innet Scorpius? House seems to get 'bout a thousand times bigger when there's less of yeh. But we'll live.

"Al, a few of yer cousins are coming round next Wednesday, after dinner. You should come along too." He smiled, and Scorpius fought to keep a laugh inside as he remembered all the times Albus had come back to the dorm complaining about Hagrid's inedible rock cakes.

"I don't know how dad ever ate any of them!" He must've said, about a thousand times over.

Hagrid gave them another broad smile and waved at the two as he went back down the hill to his hut.

Scorpius lay back down in the last of the bright afternoon sun, and Albus joined him moments later.

"You know, that cloud looks like a mouse and a chicken stuck together."

* * *

 _Thank you for reading everyone! Please follow for more and review if you've got time (although, y'know, I'd really massively super appreciate it if you did~). Thanks!_


	4. A Shout

**_Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter_**

 _I'm afraid I don't have much time to comment this week, but I'd still like to say a very brief and very heartful thank you to SonofWhitbeard, JSLaw, MLMarint and AMBERJANUS for your reviews. I don't think I'll ever find an apt way to sum it up in words, but I can't say enough how much your reviews mean to me._

 _Enjoy!_

* * *

 _Chapter 4: A Shout_

Dark, perpetually warm, and full of all kinds of weird things, the potions classroom felt like a second home in the castle to Scorpius. He felt at ease, surrounded by jars of weird ingredients, the sound of pots bubbling away and the smells of the nicer potions. Sure it was damp, the architecture left a lot to be desired, and a little bit miserable when the sun took an extended vacation all the way through autumn and winter, but who needed sunlight, anyway? He'd been very popular in that alternate universe even with his anaemic complexion. He sat on a stool at one of the wooden tables, with Albus around the corner to his right. Mia Clarke, a beautiful but slightly weird Slytherin had been staring at him from another table for quite a while now. He was trying desperately not to make eye-contact for a while now so she didn't think he wanted to talk but it was kind of hard not to. Lucy Weasley sat at another table, head up her arse as usual, with that half-French girl, Amelie Bennett, and Lydia Griffiths next to her. Apparently, they were all dorm mates, and judging by their all being in Ravenclaw and chatting amongst themselves, they seemed to be good friends.

"Honestly I don't even know how she has friends," rolling his eyes at Lucy, Albus mumbled in Scorpius' ear. "She spent all summer sucking up to Victoire, you know. Asking about how much better life was outside Hogwarts and how much more fun she was having not living at home anymore."

Scorpius snorted. "She's joking, right? She can come and spend a week at mine if she wants to know what that's like."

"To be fair, Uncle Percy is…"

He didn't finish that sentence, but from what Scorpius had heard, he didn't need to. Way too many stories involving that particular uncle seemed to revolve around being put to sleep by his stories and his strange glasses being destroyed.

Harry Shaw and Rhys Owens sat with Mia Clarke and proceeded to enter into their own staring match with her rather large and, Scorpius admitted, inviting, chest. Not that she seemed to care, though. It really was quite unsettling how she stared. The door opened again and Alexander Wilkinson, a very handsome and non-Hufflepuff-like Hufflepuff entered, with Lucas Goyle close behind.

Lucas Goyle was an odd one, because although he came from a family of death-eaters (who was best friends with Scorpius' own father in school, and was renowned for being exceptionally stupid), he had been able to distance himself utterly from his family's name by being unquestionably opposite to them all that no one cared what his family name was anymore. Perhaps it was a strange quirk of nature that Lucas should hate his parent's principles and stand against them so much that he became a jolly and true Gryffindor. Scorpius has often wondered if he might have saved his own family from their grief had he begged harder to be put in Ravenclaw.

The pair split, with Alexander sitting with the Ravenclaw girls and Crabbe joining Mia and the men, all now staring at her. To teenage, heterosexual and hormone-charged teenage boys, 'respect' was a word often laid by the wayside when the objects of their every waking desire were right in front of their face.

Rose was the last to enter all a fluster, just as Slughorn did, belly bouncing before him. She surveyed her seating options and decided that sitting with Albus and Scorpius wasn't the any worse than sitting alone, and so joined them, sitting next to Scorpius but only briefly flicking her eyes to meet his as she focused on sorting her books in front of her, and then turning her rapt attention to Slughorn.

"Well," he began, voice as distant and slightly slurred as ever, "with the addition of Miss Granger-Weasley, I do believe we're all here. Jolly good." He stood before them all, hands in his waistcoat pocket. "I suppose I should start by welcoming you all to N.E.W.T level Potions, and congratulate you on getting this far. Last summer's exam was one of my harder ones, but you all made it through in the end."

Albus guffawed at Slughorn quietly, and Scorpius gave him a careful grin. Albus had been a nervous wreck for two hours _after_ that exam.

"Now," he broke the silence and shocked Scorpius out of his comfortable daze, "I want you all together around this table, please." Pointing to the table next to him, with four potions brewing away in cauldrons of varying sizes, he watched as they cautiously trudged over. With there being just eleven of them in class now, it was easy for them all to crowd around the table and examine the four potions laid out before them.

One was just a small cauldron-full but shone like it had a thousand golden diamonds trapped inside it, a molten sheen on the surface as it joyfully bubbled away. The one next to it looked rather disgusting, like mud, or thick, dark clay, or all kinds of gross things he didn't want to know about. Next to that was a strangely water-like potion, but with almost purple steam rising from the surface as it gently bubbled away, with fiercer boiling trapped just below the surface. And finally, in the cauldron closest to where Albus, Rose and Scorpius stood was a potion with a beautiful sheen to it, like mother-of-pearl, and steam that rose in slow, iridescent spirals. Looking at it made his head feel woozy, and he breathed slowly and deeply, looking only into the surface of the pot. It smelt like freshly cut grass, and morning at a bakery, and the most beautiful of red roses. He smiled slightly to himself, and then looked at the girl next to him. She frowned at him - although it wasn't the usual frown filled with ire. Progress already, he thought, perhaps unreasonably. He looked back down at the potions swirling away before him as Rose, too, looked away.

"Well, well, it looks as though young Mr Malfoy is quite enchanted with our most lovely potion," Slughorn commented, a chuckle always at the end of a comment like that. Merlin his jokes were horrendous.

"You know me, Sir, I'm just a romantic deep down." He flashed Slughorn a winning smile, and could almost feel the groans of disbelief on either side of him.

"I don't doubt it." Slughorn chuckled. Slughorn was an easy man to charm, but Scorpius liked him, regardless. "Now, can you tell us about the four potions?"

Scorpius nodded. "This," he gestured to the potion in front of him, "is Amortentia. Then next to that is Vertitaserum, I believe, and beyond that is Polyjyice Potion. Finally, that's Felix Felicis; otherwise known as 'Liquid Luck'."

"Very Good!" The jolly old professor exclaimed, smiling widely. "And can anyone tell me the purpose or effect of these potions?" He looked around the class. "How about you, Miss Granger-Weasley?"

Rose nodded, preparing to recite the definitions as though reading the textbook. "Felix Felicis grants the drinker luck in their actions for a limited time. Polyjyice potions allow the user to change their entire appearance for a brief period, if they add the hair of the person they are targeting to the potion."

He nodded. "Very good." On one of their first lessons, the first time she'd recited a definition quite like that, he'd said how much like her mother she'd sounded. "And Mr Goyle, can you explain Veritaserum?"

The boy nodded. "It forces the drinker to speak the truth."

"And lastly - oh, go on then Miss Granger-Weasley - Amortentia?"

"It makes the drinker fall desperately in love with the first person the person who brewed the potion. It only lasts for a brief period of time, however, and is merely a similitude of real love."

Slug horn nodded. "The potion smells different depending on who and what one likes - as I think many of you have noticed." The old professor looked around the students, a slight grin on his face. Did he think he was a match-maker or something? "Well then, ten points for all your houses!"

He clapped his hands together, rubbing them as he surveyed the class. He moved away from the table and gestured for them all to go back to their seats, flicking his wand over the bubbling cauldrens to put a lid on them. Scorpius felt as though he was slowly coming round from a glorious dream. "As some of you may have read in the paper, there have been new developments in the brewing of Amortenia. Risky though it may be, we will be trying to attempt Mr Plantastrode's new method later this year. I'm sure our headmaster won't be opposed to a little fun, now then, will she?" Even as Slughorn's old eyes twinkled, Scorpius didn't doubt for a second that Headmaster McGonagall wouldn't be a big fan of a bunch of sixteen-year-olds brewing love potions together. Not that Scorpius was planning on saying anything, though.

"We will also be making either Polyjuice Potion or Veritaserum later in the year, and you must correctly brew whichever one I decide in order to pass this year and proceed to the final year of N.E.W.T. Any questions?"

Scorpius saw Rose tense next to him. It wasn't something she broadcasted widely, but potions was her worst subject; Scorpius didn't even have to try to beat her at it.

Slughorn surveyed the silent, nervous class for but a moment. "No? Excellent." Scorpius hadn't even had time to process it all, never mind form a question. Not that Slughorn probably cared. "But to ease you all in, today we'll be making a draught of the living dead; whoever makes the best draught of the living dead, wins a tiny vial of Felix Felicis to use at your discretion. Although I warn you," he said, in a sort of secretive tone, "one student used this in such a remarkable way that any other consumption has been frankly disappointing."

"What's the betting someone used it to ask out the person they fancied?"

Rose raised her eyebrows. "That's just creepy."

Scorpius grinned, hopefully dashingly, at her. "Oh Rose, you don't know how much we men suffer in front of the women we like." Scorpius could still feel the heady fumes of the love potions affecting him; he could smell her more strongly than ever, and he found it increasingly difficult to tear his eyes back to Slughorn the longer he looked at Rose. Even as she gave him a concerned look.

She seemed to freeze for a moment, mouth hanging slightly open. "Right."

"You will find the recipe on page 293 of your textbooks." Slughorn clapped his hands together. "Chop-chop!"

The classroom always seemed to burst into a flurry of activity every time Slughorn did that; everyone rushing to light their caldrons and take out the ingredients they needed, no matter how deep of a trance they were in mere seconds before.

Scorpius knew what he was doing with potions. He was at home here, adding ingredients, adjusting the fire, stirring the mixture so many times one way and a dozen more the other. Today though, he was distracted by Rose more than ever. Usually, he was just desperate to get near her, touch her, maybe even kiss her if he was lucky as a Niffler. But today he was desperate to kiss her senseless, lay his hands all over her, do things to her that Albus would never forgive him for doing mid-potions. But right now, he'd have done them in a heartbeat had she been willing - Albus be damned.

"Scorpius?" Albus chimed.

Scorpius blinked, turning his head quickly, shaking it free of his imagination. "Yeah, What?" Rose had gone from the table, leaving the two of them alone.

"You were gorming into nowhere again."

"Oh." He blinked sheepishly, looking back down at the thick, gloopy, dark mixture. "Cheers." Albus rolled his eyes and went back to focusing on his own potion - which looked perhaps a little too green, but Scorpius knew better by now than to try and correct him.

Scorpius chanced a look over to Rose, who looked frazzled. She was frowning down at her recipe, eyes frantically flicking between the contents of her cauldron and the book before her. Eyebrows drawn together and a worried crease between them, she hummed frustratedly as her potion was on the verge of curdling,

"Rose, you should add a bit of snake's bile now otherwise it's going to curdle." He suggested with a smile, and she looked up, fury flashing in her eyes.

"Are you suggesting that I need help from _you_?" Her nostrils flared in anger, and her chocolate eyes narrowed dangerously.

Scorpius held his hands up in surrender. "Sorry. Promise that I'm not trying to sabotage you, though. I don't know what I'd even use the liquid luck for."

Eyes still dangerously narrowed, she muttered something to herself and looked away. Fury aflame in her eyes, she put the bile in, anyway. Her expression softened slightly as her potion became the ink-like mixture Scorpius' was. It wasn't much, but he still smiled ridiculously widely about it.

The two hours in the muggy potions classroom and Rose slowly shedding layers of uniform as the dungeon heated up was _killing_ him. Even if the effects of the love potion's vapours had long worn off, he knew that just standing next to her was almost the same as inhaling a whole cauldron full of love potion's fumes. They chatted quietly amongst themselves, but not nearly as much as he'd have liked. Even when they didn't talk it wasn't Rose declaring that she suddenly reciprocated his feelings, which was always disappointing.

Scorpius had finished his potion some time ago, as the end of the third hour approached. He sat back on his stool, leaning against one of the back wall counters and reading a bit more of his Herbology book.

Albus was standing back from his, persuading himself that he was vaguely pleased with the finished product. It was dark, but more like indigo, and lumpy instead of as viscous as water. Rose, however, was having some real trouble with hers. It was only midnight blue, not pitch black. Her ruby hair had escaped from the neat bun at the back of her head and fell about her face. Some splayed down the wide open collar of her shirt. He couldn't seem to help where his thoughts went anymore.

"Rose." He called, and she looked up at him distractedly.

"If this is some stupid joke-"

"Want some help?"

Her eyes flashed again. "If this is some stupid joke or last-ditch attempt to ruin mine..."

"It's not."

She scowled at him, her face shimmering slightly from the steam. "I don't need help from you, anyway. I'm good at potions."

She huffed and turned away. Albus had finally stopped convincing himself his potion was okay and watched their exchange with raised brows. Scorpius motioned for him to go over to her with a tilt of his head. Albus rolled his eyes and reluctantly walked around the wooden table to stand next to her, and gave her the advice Scorpius mimed to him.

"Time is up, ladies and gentlemen." Slughorn finally called, after having said almost nothing for three hours.

Scorpius waited next to his caldron, hastily shoving the Herbology book back into his bag as Slughorn came to their table. He assessed Albus' to be adequate as he lay a dried leaf on the surface which hovered for a moment, then combusted in a spluttering flash before their eyes and crumbled to a crisp. Rose's potion fared slightly better, with the leaf floating on the barely black surface for a while, before falling under the top layer and emerging a moment later as a shredded mess. Her face dropped, and she bit her lip either to curb her frustration or tears. Scorpius looked at her curiously, wondering just why she wanted that liquid luck so much. He came to Scorpius' cauldron last, an excited grin on his face. Scorpius had quickly become a favourite of Slughorn's in their fifth year, as it was more socially acceptable to pay attention to Albus and him (and Merlin knows Slughorn cared about that). Slughorn invited the two to join his Slug Club not long after.

He dropped the leaf on the surface of the runny, midnight purple mixture and it burnt at the edges before crumbling into nothing almost immediately.

"Why, Scorpius! It is beautifully made. It is a good job you aren't out to kill us all with a potion as good as this!" He chuckled to himself, and Scorpius found himself only able to give an uneasy laugh in response to the questionable joke. By Arthur, he said some weird things. "I will award you the Felix Felicis," he pulled the vile out from his velvet robes, "use it wisely, boy." Scorpius nodded, thanking the professor and looking curiously at the bottle in his hands.

The class looked at him enviously, and Scorpius tried to avoid making eye contact with any of the heated glares. Not that he more than one idea of what he might use it for.

"Now then, for your next class, please go through and annotate the recipe for Laughing Potion and Euphoria Potion. Oh- and make sure that you all clear up well. Until next week!" He left the classroom without a second look, retreating back to his office and presumably to the plush purple armchair beside his fireplace. Scorpius had no idea how he sat in front of a fire after leaving the roasting hot dungeons, but it was all he seemed to do - even during summer.

"Alright then, clear up quickly, and we can get to dinner soon." Albus emptied his cauldron with a nonchalant wave of his wand, yawning into his hand.

"You really do only think with your stomach, don't you?"

Albus shrugged at Rose. "Grandma's cooking influenced my psychology."

Rose laughed. "I can't argue."

Scorpius gathered up the rarer ingredients that they'd borrowed and returned them to the shelves. He'd never say it to their faces, but he was jealous when they could talk about things like that.  
He felt Rose next to him before he saw her.

"So what amazing things did your grandmother cook this summer?"

Rose eyed him warily. "Not much."

"Oh come on, Al's already told me she baked a snitch cake at least!"

Rose smiled widely, seemingly remembering it fondly. "Oh, yeah. And she did the most amazing roast for all of us before we came here."

"All of you?"

Rose hummed, standing with a jar of frog's eyes in her hands, looking nowhere in particular but seeing a life full of colour before her eyes. Scorpius took the jar from her hand gently. As if thrown violently from a dream, she shuddered faintly and blinked rapidly; the smile dropped as she saw Scorpius, suddenly desperate to look anywhere but him.

He frowned. Hadn't they just been having a civil conversation? Hadn't it actually been going okay for all of 30 seconds? He didn't get it.

He opened his mouth, but she got there first.

"I'll be going then."

Deflated, he took a moment to answer. "Alright."

She left without a backward glance, catching up to Lucy and her friends at the door and transforming into the radiant Rose that he never really got to see.

It was just Albus and Scorpius left by the time they were meandering to the door.

"Scor- you tried." Albus clapped him on the back.

"I know I can always count on you to cheer me up like no one else."

Albus grinned. "As the self-designated best friend, I consider it my job."

Grinning, they clambered up the narrow, winding stairs that functioned as a shortcut from the potions rooms to the dungeons, dropped their bags off in the common room, and headed up for dinner.

Max and Joshua were already sitting there, giggling darkly like two thirteen-year-old girls discussing sex for the first time. Knowing them, they probably were.

"Do we even want to hear what you're talking about?"

Scorpius silently agreed with Albus' question as they swung their legs over the benches across from the womanising duo. A bunch of fourth-year girls were next to them, and slid a little bit further down the bench when they saw them. Unfortunately for them, the bench was now so full that they could barely shift down. Scorpius pulled Albus' hand back down as he went to flip the girls off.

"Depends. How much do you want to hear about your brother, Albus?"

He cringed. "Oh, Merlin. Stop! I don't ever — ew." Spearing a sausage angrily, he munched it with a cringing expression. "That's just— ew. You're both so lucky you're only children."

"My sister is very offended."

"Sorry Joshua's sister. The only _magical_ child."

"I'm sure your sister's sorry she's related to you, anyway." Max barbed at his friend next to him.

Thankfully, Alfie arrived before anyone could say anything else.

"Alright?" He greeted, calm as ever, as he squeezed onto the very cramped bench next to Scorpius. Max stared open-mouthed between the spot next to him and the tiny space Alfie had just slithered into on the other side of the table.

"Joshua's poor sister was being forgotten; Max was about to restart their Hundred Years' War, and so on." Scorpius filled him in quickly.

Alfie only offered "Poor Melissa," before he loaded his plate and began to eat.

"Good day?" Scorpius asked between mouthfuls of carrot and potato mash.

Alfie shrugged. "Firenze's going harder than ever on the importance the of Mars-Venus alliance this year, but he's always been one to emphasise the stranger planetary connections. Jupiter-Neptune's a lot more common and sometimes more influential, but that barely gets a look in, in comparison. I mean, with Mars-Venus it only makes suggestions at compatibility, Jupiter-Neptune is fare more influential in telling both the success rates of current situations _and_ is key in leading to possible routes of seeing future outcomes!"

Dazed, Scorpius scrambled for an answer. "Right. Yeah, sounds strange Alfie."

"How was yours?" Alfie took another bite.

Scorpius shrugged, mouth full.

"Favourite of Slughorn here won another prize in his first lesson."

Scorpius couldn't help but detect the slight bite lurking in the undertone of Albus' voice.

"Ooh, favourite student!" Joshua and Max cooed in unison, putting on their high-pitched voices and smiles so fake they could've been in a muggle advert. A group of Hufflepuffs from the next table looked over and gave the pair judging looks.

"About twenty Hufflepuffs just decided you're idiots."

"No they didn't."

"Yeah, they did."

"Nah, they decided _you're_ an idiot. I bet I've got with half of them."

Joshua turned around and winced. They were a group of second years.

"Oh Merlin's left bollock no."

* * *

Ignoring the foot currently in Joshua's mouth, they surprisingly managed to pass the rest of dinner in pleasant conversation. They could do that sometimes. Mostly when Joshua was absent - mentally or physically, both worked pretty well.

"Alright." Scorpius declared after two idle hours before the fire. "Alright, I need to move."

Alfie, the only one left before the fire, watched him as he and Theia stretched in unison. "Why?"

He shrugged, stroking Theia behind the ear before she wound around student's legs and up the dormitory stairs. "I've got, you know," scratching the back of his head he searched desperately for answers, "stuff."

"Classic."

Scorpius grabbed his bag from the floor. "I don't know. I've got to put up that sign about the Phoenix Ball, and I should probably try and find Sophia and desperately avoid and incoming Mia and—"

"Scorpius!"

His stomach clenched. He _really_ didn't want to deal with this right now. "Mia!"

"How was your summer, Scorpius? Miss me?" She gave him a flirtatious smile, batting her long eyelashes over her almond-shaped dark eyes. "I'm sure you did."

Scorpius grimaced. Alfie watched the scene with his trademark nonplussed daze as Mia pushed Scorpius back down onto the sofa, sitting almost on his lap. Oh boy, he bet it would've been funny if he hadn't felt so damn awkward about this. Mostly because her chest was basically in his face.

"Yeah- good summer thanks. How was yours?"

She shrugged, winding a strand of platinum hair around her finger. "Saw some friends, went to Switzerland, had a couple of parties. Would've been better if you were there, though."

He quickly shuffled upright and further away from her, nodding along to whatever she said.

"Well, maybe my invitation got lost in the post." He laughed nervously and uninterestedly. The thing that bothered Scorpius was that she would never have said that two years ago. Hell, even a year ago she was only just starting to take notice of him in a way that didn't entail all kinds of pain. She was one of the people who hid his timetable in second year, one of the people who laughed after his clothes were stolen all those times after Quidditch lessons the first two years. Didn't help him get the Soothing Solution when he'd been burned badly in third year and needed it, either. By the time Lydia Griffiths had arrived in the classroom and found him almost collapsed by the foot of the table with the Solution on it, it'd been too late to stop the scaring - and to numb the pain. He still had that cherry-coloured scar on his waist to this day; Madam Pomfrey only managed to shrink half of it.

No, he'd never be able to think about Mia that way.

"Do you want to share a desk with me in Herbology?"

"How do you know I'm doing Herbology?"

"Matilda Parker let it slip in Arithmancy."

Scorpius withered inside, cursing to himself. Mia was almost as bad as Hufflepuff's Grace Hill for gathering up news. She had eyes everywhere; she had to have!

"Well- anyway…" Scorpius stood up as soon as he was far enough away from Mia again. "I've just- I've got to- y'know."

He hopped off before she could argue and almost knocked Albus over at the door of the dungeons.

"Al! Library! Let's go!"

"What the—?"

"Come on!"

He dragged Albus up the stairs at a rate of knots only ever seen when they were not just late, but _fucking late_ to Professor Henrich's class.

"Seriously Scor- what the hell?"

"Mia."

"Ah."

"Yeah."

Scorpius panted, doubled over, and Albus watched his friend with a mixed look on his face.

"Still being psycho and pretending that she _didn't_ contribute to that elephant stamp on your back?"

Scorpius nodded. "Pretty much."

They met eyes in the eerie silence of Hogwarts corridors in the evening. Albus got it; they never had to talk about it. The things they'd endured, just because no one bothered to ask about rumours and decided that Al and Scorpius were social poison, had been terrible. It was one of the things Scorpius let himself get irrationally angry about. The kind of anger that burns through your body from top to toe, keeping you awake at night.

"So, library?"

"I've got no idea, really."

Albus grinned, looking far more like his siblings than he usually did. "Butterbeer from the kitchens?"

Scorpius matched his grin. "Couldn't refuse you."

"Head up to the tower?"

"You read my mind."

Albus saluted like he'd seen those soldiers do on the news sometimes and set off on the advance path as he pulled that weird map of his out of his cloak, checking the map for teachers or prissy students and the air for Peeves.

He walked over towards the cleaner's closet hidden in an inlet just between the statues of two angry goblins. Actually - just goblins. They always look angry. Balwin the Brash and Unready Grumpkrik, if his foggy memory served him correctly.

Backing into the closet, he was studying each way down the corridor, when he stepped on a foot behind him.

Whirling around, he felt a hand over his mouth and heard a muffled scream as he was pulled into the cramped closet. His scream. Chocolate eyes glared at him through angry slits, and Rose slowly withdrew her hand from his mouth.

"What the hell, Malfoy?"

"I was uh... practising. For… the…" By _Zeus_ he was bad at thinking, "Toad choir."

"The toad choir? You're in that?" For one brief moment, she looked vaguely impressed. It also could've been confusion.

"No. But I want to be."

Not for the first time that day, she gave him a sceptical look and only said, "Right."

"B-but, what do I owe the honour to?"

"Honour?" She whispered mostly to herself. He really didn't want a knut for her thoughts at that moment. "I was returning from somewhere."

"Somewhere?" He had no idea what made him so bold in that moment - maybe it was the adrenaline, possibly it was pure stupidity. That sometimes happened, even to him. _Especially_ to him.

But clearly Rose was taken aback by him too, and the proximity of the pair wasn't helping. He could see as all the flickers of shock and indignity went through her eyes. She huffed, folding her arms tightly across her chest. "If you must know, I was on my way back from seeing Jamie Rodgers."

"Rodgers?"

"Yes. He was asking me to the Ball."

And this was it. This was the moment where Scorpius truly, utterly embarrassed himself worse than he ever had done before. Worse than the time he'd sneeze-coughed during McGonagall's end of year speech. Worse than when he'd been waterbombed by Peeves in the Great Hall.

"Rose!" He seemed to be shouting even though she was only about a foot away from him. It was like he heard himself say it from outside of his body, not realising he was shouting, or even talking to a real person. " _Wannagototheballwithme_?" He blurted out, like some vile kind of word-vomit he had to get out of his system.

Rose raised her eyebrows. "Sorry?"

"WANT TO GO TO THE BALL WITH ME?" He accidentally shouted, and then drained of all blood as soon as he realised what he'd done. It hadn't butterbeerset in how terrible that sounded until he looked out of the cupboard they were both currently trapped in and saw the Gryffindor ghost drift by, a startled and embarrassed look faint on his face.

Merlin's bollocks, that was _bad_.

"Uh, Okay," she muttered, eyes wide and backing out of the cupboard one cautious step at a time. "I'm just going to-" she stepped out into the corridor and then ran off.

He didn't know how long he stared at the same spot in the corridor. The entire earth around him was so irrelevant now that he couldn't have even told you what he'd been staring at. It was the kind of horrifically embarrassing moment that you'll never be able to explain, and you'll never, ever get over.

Who know's how long later, he heard several pairs of footsteps approach as he stood there, head now buried in his hands and trying to desperately refrain from banging his head on the mop leaning against the cupboard wall.

A voice was laughing, and he knew who it was immediately.

"Oh you tosspot why didn't you help?!" Scorpius groaned, as Albus doubled over with laughter in front of him, Alfie standing behind him and cringing desperately, and someone else who he only assumed was Max, crouched on the floor just beyond the shadow of the cupboard door. "I'm having a moment of intense cringing over here! I want to eat my own lips. Please don't laugh anymore." He whined, but it did nothing to cease the endless flow of laughter.

"That-" he panted, "was- that was _ridiculous_!" Albus put an arm around Scorpius as he staggered out of the cupboard, legs like lead and no feeling in his lips, only succeding in keeping himself half upright. "You looked like a fucking moron."

Scorpius pushed Albus' arm off, instead appealing to Alfie for comfort. Who in response only gave him his best attempt at a smile through the cringing.

"You're my friend, but that was so bad I'm not even sure I know any words to describe it."

"I know." He whispered, clapping his hands over his eyes. "So bad."

Max was an incoherent lump on the floor. Scorpius could only summon the will to manage a soft kick and a few insults to his jittering form. Alfie raised his eyebrows, but Scorpius justified it easily by just looking at the giggling heap.

"Oh let's just take the butterbeer, pretend it's actually whiskey, and forget this ever happened." Scorpius whined, picking up the keg of butterbeer Albus had abandoned when he saw Scorpius' display, marching over to the stairs. He could only tell by Max' deceptively high-pitched laughter that the three were trooping after him.

"Where's Joshua, anyway?" Alfie asked.

"He's— haha. _Helping_ — oh my god. Paige, with Ancient—"

He collapsed into laughter too heavy to be useful anymore.

"It's been a day and — already?"

"Those two did have a fling last year."

"Started in year— hehehe. Year two—"  
"Oh." Alfie and Albus vocalised in unison. "Ew."

"How does he even do it?" Scorpius asked, immediately regretting all the actions he'd ever taken that lead him to that moment as Max collapsed into harder laughter again.

"You— you _suck_!"

Albus turned to Scorpius and gave him a grin. "It's going to make however I ask whomever I ask look so much smoother in comparison."

Scorpius did not answer that.

They made it to the seventh floor of the Yseult tower in the west wing of the castle, where only the pigeons occasionally roosted, and collapsed onto the floor. Max, still giggling to himself, was largely ignored as they set to work on transfiguring the fluffy rug on the floor so that it covered all the concrete ground, and making the furniture they'd miniaturised before the summer large again. Soon enough, the room was furnished with three chairs, a table and a stack of cards. For Alfie - he'd insisted on them.

Scorpius and Albus had stumbled here in their second year and found it to be a haven in their outcast days. Now that they were, for the most part, over and they could relax in their dormitory in peace, the five of them had started to use this place whenever they needed peace from the Slytherins, a change of scenery or, for the most part, when they needed somewhere private to take girls. No prizes for guessing who got the most use out of it.

Cramped though it may be, it was comfortable enough and served them well.

"Bit bloody chilly tonight lads." Max intoned, finally coming round from his laughing fit.

"Ah, finally done, are you?"

He sniggered.

"Oh for the love of Guenevere's left cheek — really?"

He looked like he was eating his lips. "Promise- I'm done."

"Good."

With a hesitant expression, Alfie spoke. "Though Scorpius, you do need some help in that endeavour."

Scorpius rolled his eyes. "No - _really!_? I thought it was going perfectly!"

Alfie raised his brows again. He'd make a great teacher if he was a bit more of a slave-driver. "I'm just saying."

"Yeah, maybe you should ask someone else, now?" Albus suggested hopefully, but Scorpius didn't miss the underlying meaning there.

Neither did Alfie or Max.

"Well. This is awkward."

A silence hung over the room.

It hung, and it hung, and it settled like a thick layer of dust, choking them all.

"Wanna hear about my cousin's trip to an American Witches' retreat?"

It was as though the entire room sprung into action trying desperately to stop Max from finishing that story.

So they broke open the butterbeer, listened with regretful interest as Max finally did tell that story, and the ones about him in France, and passed the rest of their evening as irresponsibly as they possibly could've done. Who cared about the homework? Surely it couldn't stack up _that_ quickly.

So far, Scorpius was actually living up to his dad's advice. He was sure he'd be proud.

* * *

 _I hope you all liked it! Please review if you've got time (I reeeaally appreciate it, too!) and follow for more. Thanks!_


	5. The Rose Plan

**_Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter. Any of it._**

 _Hi, everyone! I'm back. Let's start with this week's thanks: thank you to **Son of Whitebeard, JSLaw, MLMarint and BellaStoria**_ _for your reviews this week! JSLaw, you may get your wishes soon and MLMarint, thank you so much! I'm so flattered that this is one of your favourites! ^^ I just hope I can continue pleasing you all!_

 _Enjoy!_

* * *

Chapter _5: The Rose Plan_

By Week 3, Scorpius had decided that the name 'free period' was actually a joke. A cruel joke, made up by the education gods, to remind them that they were all inadequate in their studies.

"Why the hell do they give us free periods, when we all know that they're just more study time?"

"Because they remind you that you're failing so hard, and that if you didn't suck so much you might actually be free in that time."

Scorpius grimaced at Max' explanation over his fried eggs at breakfast. And he felt bleary and sleepy all through Transfiguration that morning - which was never the lesson to feel tired in unless you wanted a bollocking - only really waking up when he got to Alchemy.

"Scor, you need more sleep." Albus mumbled to him as Slughorn marked the register.

Scorpius yawned into his sleeve, shrugging Albus off. "You should've seen the essay Professor Binns gave us."

"The unicorn one?"

Scorpius nodded. Free periods had become such torture thanks to professors like Professor Binns. Teach them all some things in class - then set an essay about an entirely different topic. They were doing about the Roman Witches - and what relevance did one General seeing a unicorn maybe in German somewhere have to do with that?! Night after night, he pushed himself to stay up later and later just to finish everything he needed to, and stay on top of prefects rounds and Quidditch practice. He wasn't the only one, either; the library and the common room was often littered with sixth and seventh years staying up late to finish their work. Honestly, he was starting to wonder if he was losing brain cells rather than gaining them.

But at least he was still good at Alchemy - because one hour later, he had an ounce of mercury sitting before him where there had been a pound of lead.

"Scorpius my boy, excellent work!" Slughorn gave him a hearty clap on the back, almost knocking him into the poisonous metal. He had a surprising amount of strength for such an old man. "But how might you perfect your technique to increase the yield?"

Scorpius could almost feel the gears in his head clunking into action. "I suppose if I had controlled the heat of the fire in the earlier stages better, I might be able to regulate the boiling point of lead more accurately and thereby increase the yield."

Slughorn nodded in approval, a smug smile on his face for how well he thought he'd instructed his pupils. That Albus' tongue was sticking out the corner of his mouth in concentration as a wrangled a couple of drops of mercury from his cauldron was seemingly of no consequence.

"Seriously Scor, tell me your secrets!" Albus whined as they left the classroom.

Scorpius always felt awkward about things like this. Just like Albus could challenge him in Defence Against the Dark Arts without really knowing why, Scorpius didn't exactly understand why he could do potions and alchemy so well, either. It just made sense to him, as though the method was an equation and it fit perfectly in his mind.

Thankfully, he was saved from answering by a hand on his shoulder. Unfortunately, it was Mia Clarke.

"Scor! You've been hiding from me lately. Where have you been?"

"The Library." He didn't even challenge that he'd been avoiding her. He didn't have the energy for this, now.

She hummed. "I haven't been there since the tour in first year. Maybe I should go again."

"Please don't. You... wouldn't give anyone else a chance in Astronomy!" He spluttered, adding the latter part as an afterthought when she genuinely looked a bit offended. He didn't like her, but that didn't mean he had to be a dick about it.

"But I want to see you!" He chuckled awkwardly, and tried to edge away from her, to no avail. "Anyway, I've been thinking a lot about who I'd like to go to the Ball with."

"Oh?" He hoped that she'd somehow decided someone else was the man for her. He wouldn't even be surprised if she'd said Louis Weasley - everyone and their house-elf wanted to go with him.

"Yeah." She smiled, dark eyes twinkling in the torchlight of the dungeons. "I think he knows it, too. Later."

She left without another word, leaving an exasperated Albus and Scorpius in her wake.

"It's a good job you have any dignity otherwise you would've got laid _so_ long ago."

Scorpius narrowed his eyes in confusion, still staring at the corridor she'd disappeared down. "Sometimes I wish I was more like Max."

Albus sighed. "Me too, mate. Me too."

But this kind of situation wasn't at all anything to gossip about anymore. You could almost smell the desperation lingering in the air of the corridors sometimes. Anyone who could was trying to get someone to take them to the Ball. Since all the students had grown up in peace times, there was no hint of drama other than who went out with who, who called who what, who gave who a mean look. His dad had pointed it out to Scorpius in a letter; when they'd had the ball, they lived in a remarkably different time. Staying alive and avoiding dementors or malicious dark creatures was so much more important than who they went to the ball with. Now, they had nothing to set the castle abuzz with excitement except for idle gossip.

"I've had twelve invitations already." Joshua declared as they entered the penultimate week of September.

Alfie just continued to read the papers as the rest ate on. Joshua was popular with the ladies for some reason. Probably his dashing good looks and oozing confidence. He'd had a glow-up in Year 4, and no one had missed it; from a short, skinny ginger he turned into a tall, muscular brunette with a charismatic grin. Sometimes Scorpius wanted to punch him in his perfect teeth for it.

"And?" Max finally took the bait. "I've had eighteen."

Albus rolled his eyes. He'd been asked out by a very shy and giggly Phoebe Allsop, and not the Ravenclaw he fantasised about. On Scorpius' part, he'd had the very obvious hint from Mia, and a couple of Slytherins in the year below had become increasingly giggly around him. He and Albus were still social poison to the other houses though. Not a bad as they used to be, but still to the point where it was a bit awkward to be seen in public with them unless you had a very good reason.

"But I'm not going to accept any of mine." Joshua said boldly.

Now that caught their attention.

"Who are you, and what have you done with Joshua?"

"Is the Bloody Baron living in your body again?"

"Again?"

"Long story." Joshua shrugged it off as if it were normal for a ghost to slide into your body every now and then. "It's because I've got my eyes set on one girl in particular."

"Oh?"

"Are you planning on telling us any time soon?"

"No."

Scorpius blinked. He checked his watch. "Well, I make that about 4 minutes of my time wasted. Cheers!"

Joshua pulled a face, and went back to staring off aimlessly. Alfie traced his eyesight, had a revelatory look pass over his face, then went back to reading the news.

"Um, Alfie?"

"Yep?"

"Planing I'm telling us who it is then?"

"That's Joshua's business."

"Oh for fucks-"

A giddy looking fourth year came up to them as tapped Max on the shoulder.

Albus and Scorpius shared a look, and packed up their stuff.

"Good luck, lady," Albus called to the brunette as they walked past, "but he's really more into blondes!"

Scorpius snorted. "No need to crush her dreams. We all know he's into anything with a pulse.

* * *

"Alfie?"

"Hm."

"How do you know literally everything?"

Alfie drew the book away from his face. "Scorpius, you make absolutely no sense sometimes."

"It's just that you worked out who Joshua fancies in about three seconds."

Alfie raised his eyebrows. "He was staring right at her."

"Oh, he was?! Can't you tell me who it is?"

"Sorry Scor, that's his business."

Scorpius settled back down into his seat. He was right, but Scorpius also loved knowing things. About people, about things. He didn't really see what the difference between gossip and knowledge was when you got down to it, anyway. It probably also explained why he wasn't in Ravenclaw.

"I don't know how you do it."

"To be fair, Scorpius, you have no siblings. You have no practice in keeping secrets because no one else told you any." He flicked a page nonchalantly. "Sorry. It is true, though."

Scorpius shrugged. "What're you going to do? Only child's lot."

Alfie grinned. "I used to wish I was an only child, sometimes."

Alfie was the youngest of six brothers. Six incredibly macho, quidditch playing and rough-housing brothers. They'd been part of the reason why Alfie had never really spoken to him and Albus until their third year outside of their dorm.

"I think I'd rather be one of one than one of six, too."

Alfie put down his book, trapping his thumb between the old, yellowed pages of 'Astrology of the Egyptian Kingdom'. "You should've seen the fights we'd have. My three eldest brothers hated each other when we were a lot younger. And since I was the youngest of them all, the beatings I used to get-" his expression soured a little. "But when it was clear I was just the quiet kid, I became the secret box for everyone."

"You were essentially the most valuable kid in that whole house."

Alfie nodded. "Sort of. I know some weird shit."

"Go on." Scorpius prodded with an evil grin.

Alfie leaned in conspiratorially. "Well, I know that Robert wanted to marry his wife's friend at first, not his wife. And that Alexander went to London for a wizard rave, not the conference my parents think. He ended up stuck in a flat with three trolls for a few days and was off his face on Merlin knows what, before he finally sobered up enough to apparate home. He landed directly in my room, and I helped clean him up a bit before I made him apparate outside and come in through the front door."

"You have to be joking!"

Alfie laughed, leaning away. "Nope. Mum and Dad never found out about either of those things, either. But they're both rich as bollocks and living in London now, so I doubt they would even care."

Scorpius snickered. Alfie was the kind of Scotsman who was essentially just English aristocracy who lived in a castle somewhere in the highlands and didn't even have an accent. That being said, he might fight you if you called him English. "Families are weird."

They heard a cooing voice behind them. "Breaking up a mother's meeting, am I?"

Alfie reopened his book, brining it up to his face. "Not at all."

Max slid himself between the pair. "Guess what I did today."

"Gain respect for women?"

"Finally see those unicorns you've been baiting for weeks?"

Max successfully distracted them all until Albus arrived, two shining mauve envelopes in hand.

"Guess who just got these on the way back from dinner?" He wielded the pair like a fan as he stepped in front of the fire.

"Slug club invitations?"

"Unless you're being kicked out in the ponciest way ever."

"Wouldn't put it past Slughorn." Scorpius intoned. "But don't worry Alfie, we'll take you as our date."

Alfie just held up two fingers in response, not even bothering to roll his eyes.

But as they fought their way past Slughorn's remarkably sticky glue, Scorpius was proved right. "Two Thursday's time… are we free then?"

Albus shrugged. "Should be fine. The game's before that."

As Albus said it, Scorpius's stomach did a backflip. Their first game of the year was only next Saturday. But at least it was only against Hufflepuff, and they were awful. They were all so kind, though, that he did feel sorry about beating them. Well, except for Daniel Wood - he was almost competitive enough to be a Slytherin. The only reason Scorpius could think of for how he ended up in that house is that he must've been nicer as an eleven-year-old.

"Oh no don't - you'll make poor ickle Scorpius sick!" Joshua cooed as he vaulted over the back of one of the sofas, coming to an uneasy landing next to Alfie.

"And where've you been? Staring at tea leaves?"

Joshua gave Max a loathing glance. "Actually, I've been working on securing my date, unlike you losers. Can I borrow the map tonight, Al?"

Albus shrugged. "Sure. Who is it though?"

"That's for me to know, and you to find out."

"Oh god - it's not Poppy Creevey is it?"

He frowned. "She's still going out with your brother, genius."

"Still?" Albus grimaced. "He said he was breaking up with her a week ago."

"Anyway, it's not Paige Finnegan, is it?"

Joshua shook his head.

"Oh god, please tell me it's not one of those second year Hufflepuffs."

Joshua pulled a face at Scorpius. "What do you think I am?!"

"I think the word for that is 'paedophile'."

"No, it's not."

"Yeah it is."

"No, it's-"

"Oh shut up, I'm not either!" Joshua declared, standing.

"I know."

They all turned to look at Alfie.

"I swear, you could be a serial killer."

"Well, I'm officially winning the race to get a date, friends. Good luck."

When Joshua had disappeared up the Boy's stairs, all eyes were again on Alfie.

He shrugged. "Use your own brains."

* * *

Transfiguration class was very, very awkward. It was usually pretty uncomfortable with Professor Henrich patrolling the aisles and staring down at them like a taxidermied hawk, but with Rose sitting next to him, the class couldn't have been more uncomfortable. She shifted uncomfortably every now and then, and whenever they had to make contact, or - Merlin forbid it - speak(!), she wouldn't make eye contact with him.

Professor Henrich finished his rounds of prowling with a spectacular flick of his long dragon skin robes, glittering perhaps green or perhaps black in the sunlight, and came to a sudden halt at the front desk.

"And now we shall move on to the theory of the Candaris Lapurnia spell. Would anyone care to share what this spell might do?"

Rose's hand shot up next to him.

"Miss Granger-Weasley?"

"It creates animals out of candles, Sir. It is chiefly used in transfiguring rabbits, although other such small animals like weasels and possum can quite easily be produced, too."

The professor nodded once. That was almost like being hugged by him, just less creepy. "Ten points to Gryffindor."

He could almost feel the smugness radiating from Rose sitting next to him. When Henrich's eyes slid over to Scorpius, and his face dropped, though, he couldn't help but feel a little pang of irritation.

"The instructions are on page 325. Please read in silence."

Scorpius raced to flip his book to the right page. When Henrich told you to read in silence, you read as fast as was magically possible. He really didn't mess around, which was probably why Joshua had almost failed O.W.L. level Transfiguration.

He managed to make it to the last few sentences when Professor Henrich's voice cracked over he silence as sharp as a whip.

"And what is the projected daily use of this spell, Mr Malfoy?"

It was like his stomach dropped all the way down into the depths of the Black Lake. Somehow, the answered were always in the few sentences you didn't read.

The silence was growing. Scorpius darted his eyes around for help, but none came. He said the one thing he really knew he shouldn't. "For starting an illegal rabbit farm?"

You could've heard a mouse cough.

Scorpius bit his lip to refrain from laughing. If the cringing expressions of his classmates and loathing looks were anything to go by, he'd say it didn't go down that well. He heard a muffled snigger which he knew must've been from Alfie in the back corner next to Sabrina. Rose shifted slightly away from him in his seat. Scorpius still didn't really get it - he thought he was funny! And he _knew_ that he wasn't pin-drop-silence, could-hear-a-mouse-squeak unfunny, either. But Professor Henrich clearly did not think that way.

"Think you're funny, do you? An essay on the daily use of this spell by Friday."

"But today's Thursday..."

"Oh, is it? That's unfortunate for you. I suppose you might have to cancel that joke workshop tonight."

Scorpius slunk further and further back into his chair as Professor Henrich leered down at him from his towering height. Who said that school had to be terrifying, huh?

Scorpius decided not to say anything in response. Or for the rest of that lesson. And for once, the remaining half hour actually managed to pass without incident. He left the classroom feeling miserable; was he really still in a state where it was better for everyone if he just stayed quiet all day, every day? Was he still only allowed to talk to Slytherins - and at that, only the ones who even dared to speak to him first? He wasn't the son of the Dark Lord, his parents weren't death eaters, and he couldn't answer for the crimes of the rest of his family. Did people still not understand that? That they wouldn't melt if they looked, touched, or talked to him?

* * *

Albus dragged him from the Common Room that night for Quidditch training. But he only succeded with help, and threats of calling the captain and a not-so-gentle reminder that their first game was only a week away.

They finally made it to the grounds just as the other team members were trickling in, from dinner or lessons or the common room. Naoki Greensmith had been their captain for three years by this point, having taken over from the legendary Josiah Slone, ex-Slytherin chaser and current Wales national chaser. He was their quidditch hero - and Slytherin really didn't have so many of them.

"Okay, team." He clapped his hands and rubbed the palms together in nervous circles, the way he always did before sending them out to the field. "We've got our first game of the season in just over a week, so we've got to get everything nice and tight today. We know that the Hufflepuff seaker's just got a new broom, so play that to your advantage Scorpius, and chasers, you've got a name to live up to. But more than that, we know that they tend to gravitate towards the centre so try rotating around a triangular formation. That way you can keep a close eye on them _and_ watch out for other players to help." As he went through his tactics in very particular detail, he drew it out on the chalkboard behind him. He would've had a chalkboard with him all day, every day, if he were allowed to.

He turned to face Katie Bulstrode and Oliver Wright. Both were heavily built and very strong. "Just hit away from our guys. The Hufflepuffs never cause much of a fight."

There didn't need to be much of a fight there; the Hufflepuffs were rarely much competition, and with the detail Naoki was going in to, they didn't need to worry about the outcome at all.

"The only trouble we're going to have is against Daniel Wood."

He said the name with a kind of malice only usually reserved for 'the bloody Minister', 'final exams', or 'Professor Henrich'.

"That bastard." Scorpius intoned, and there a few quiet chuckles crept through the room.

"He's a good keeper. _Very_ good. So Chasers, you'll need to be on your best performance when shooting. I thought, Amy, since you're the fastest, you should be in charge of scoring." The fourth year looked positively flushed with delight. "He's right handed, so try to score through the left hoop whenever possible."

She nodded, and Naoki put down the stump of chalk. "Okay team, any questions?"

The room was filled with a few sniffles and the sound of quidditch robes creaking as Albus shifted.

"I know it's only Hufflepuff but a little more enthusiam would go a long way."

He sounded just like Scorpius' mother.

* * *

Two hours later and Scorpius and Albus were finally trudging out of the changing rooms after having been put on clean up duty again, muscles aching with every step they took.

"You'd think he wouldn't be so hard on us. It's just Hufflepuff - they haven't won a game in four years!"

"They've done better since Daniel Wood joined, though." Scorpius pointed out.

He didn't see it, but he knew Albus was rolling his eyes. " _Pl-ease_. The moment Leo Black and Michael Palmer actually learn what 'arm muscles' are, then we're screwed. But until-"

Scorpius held out a hand to stop Albus. He'd heard some mumbling in the dark.

"What?" Albus whispered.

"Heard someone. Come on." The pair crept around the small building and peered around the edge.

Scorpius pulled his head back almost immediately.

It was Daniel Wood. And there, standing next to him, was Rose Weasley.

"You do _not_ get to melt on me! Come on, I could use- I mean, I might need to hear this!" Albus hissed at Scorpius, pulling him back to this earth from his nightmarish visions.

"So have you heard about this ball, Ganger?"

"Granger-Weasley." She sighed. "Of course I have, anyway. It's been all Paige and Jasmine can talk about."

"Oh yeah? Are they going with anyone interesting?

"Who knows, honestly. I think Paige is interested in one of those Slytherin boys."

"Not those boys who hang around Malfoy and Potter?"

Rose nodded. "One of the better-looking ones. The brunette one who all the girls snog and then never admit to."

"Shame. They could do better. Even a first year would be better." It didn't come as a surprise but it wasn't nice to hear themselves talked about like that, anyway. But at least Rose gave no reply.

He looked up at Albus who was scowling, and Scorpius didn't blame him.

" _Little **arse**_."

"So anyway, you fancy going with me? I could always take you out for a nice spin around the castle afterwards, if you know what I mean." He added with a hollow chuckle that lacked all the confidence it needed.

"Oh." Rose said. "Well, how about this? I'll think about it and get back to you soon."

"Right. Yeah, of course. See you, Granger."

Rose was about to stop him as he walked away but decided against it. She walked back up in the direction of the castle, and Scorpius and Albus ducked back into the entrance of the changing room as Daniel cane their way.

They didn't have time for anything more than a baffled look as Daniel came into the changing rooms.

"Oh. Malfoy, Potter. To what do I owe the pleasure?"

"We were on clean up duty, just about to head up to the castle. Want to come?" Scorpius lied smoothly

"No." He snapped. "I came down here to practice, and why would I want to be seen with you? It'd ruin my reputation."

Now Scorpius was really wondering why there was no house for knobheads.

"Right. Okay. Well, we're just heading up." Albus said tersely. He was never great at controlling his anger, and less so when he'd just seen his favourite cousin hit on, too.

"Good luck for the game on Saturday, Daniel." Scorpius said airily as they left.

"You know your cousin, Potter?" Daniel called after them. "Well tell her to think about my offer. Tell her to think very carefully, because I saw her with Jake Andrews last year."

He had a sour look on his face, and Scorpius had to put a restraining arm around Albus just to get them out of there.

"Right. Will do. Bye!"

Scorpius almost pushed Albus out of the door, and there was a thunderous silence about him until they were well past the whomping willow.

"I'm sure it was nothing. I'm sure he's just bullshitting."

"I still don't like it. She's my cousin, Scor, you don't get it!"

Scorpius didn't want to remind Albus of the fact that he did get it, he felt it pretty intensely and he didn't want to think about it either because he'd been in love with her for years.

"He's just being an arse. Besides, you heard Rose. She didn't even give him an answer."

Albus looked at him blankly as they passed through the main gate. "Oh, like she gave you one straight away?"

Scorpius sucked in a breath, but again held his tongue. One more word from Albus though, and he might accidentally get nasty.

The pair paused before the Great Hall, and Albus watched Scorpius through seething eyes, examining him up and down.

"What're you looking at?" He snapped.

"Oh just- I'm going to find her. I'll see you later." And so Albus stormed off in the direction of Gryffindor Tower. Scorpius would've been lying if he didn't say he was glad to see the back of him for now.

* * *

Albus only re-appeared late that night when the common room was empty but for the four of them. Scorpius still felt some lingering irritation, but it almost completely abated when he saw how drawn Albus looked. It wasn't going to help any of them if he stayed angry - no matter how good it might feel in that moment.

"Took your time." Max called throwing aside his rather mangled looking Care of Magical Creatures book. Scorpius dreaded to think which beast had mauled it this time - last time it'd been a giant spider from the woods. "Did they almost convert you to a Gryffindor?"

Albus gave an unenthusiastic laugh. "Oh yeah, make daddy proud and all that." He flopped down on the sofa with them.

"So." Joshua asked, looking confused.

"Don't." He sighed, closing his eyes.

Joshua looked at Scorpius and mouthed, 'What the Fuck?'

Scorpius just shrugged. "I'm going to the bathroom." It felt good to stretch his legs and everything, but by the time he got back, he knew he'd made a grave mistake.

Albus, Max and Joshua were huddled around like they'd been having an evil mother's meeting. Even Alfie had put down his book and was listening intently. Scorpius sat down facing them, eyeing each one and their gleaming smiles in the fire-light uneasily.

"You know, you look like you just planned the murders of the house elves."

"Yeah, well, the food was getting a bit shitty…" Max sighed, and Scorpius couldn't help but laugh.

"So." Alfie said, for once initiating the deluge that was to come. And to think, he could get so high and might about staying out of 'drama' sometimes.

"So." Albus grinned widely.

"Oh come on." Scorpius rolled his eyes. "I've never known any of you have so much trouble saying something."

"Woah there, don't prod the bee's nest!" Joshua gasped.

"We have a plan." Alfie sighed, being the only one to actually say anything thus far.

"Oh, right. What kind of plan? Like essays, revision, social…" He paled. "Oh, Arthur. Not a party. Not again-!"

"Oi, hear us out! We've come up with a plan for _you_."

"Oh yeah?" Scorpius leaned forwards with morbid curiosity and Albus, Max and Joshua grinned between themselves.

"The Rose Plan."

* * *

 _Heh heh. So this is it, where the plot begins in earnest. I actually considered calling this fic 'The Rose Plan', but I decided that I liked 'An Invitation' better. Do you think I made the right choice?_

 _Anyway, please review if you've got time (extra emphasis on the please, there ^.~) and follow for more. Thanks!_


	6. A Father's Advice

_**Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter**_

 _Thank you so much **Momo** , **Ringo Starr's Girlfriend** (Nice username! I love me some Beatles), **Son of Whitebeard** , **Guest** and **JSLaw** for your reviews! As always, I really, really, really appreciate any and all insights you have and your praise - it honestly keeps me motivated to carry on writing! If I could ask, though - JSLaw, what is it you're finding confusing? If you could let me know, then I can work out if it's something intentional or something I need to go back and fix ^.^_

 _Okay, that's all my comments for this week. Enjoy!_

* * *

 _Chapter 6: A Father's Advice_

Scorpius looked at his friends with raised eyebrows. "Okay, well first thing's first - that name is _awful_."

Joshua huffed. "Told you he'd say that."

"It's better than Operation: Invitation."

"Touché."

Scorpius raised a hand. "Nonetheless. Secondly: what?"

"Well," Albus began, throwing a pointed look at the pair next to him before they really got going, "I've decided-"

"-as the holy cousin-"

"-as the _best_ cousin, that I'd rather you than Daniel Wood or some slick twit from Ravenclaw or whatever."

"Oh, you forgot Jamie Rogers"

Albus deadpanned as silence fell over the common room. "Thank you, Alfie."

"Also Rhys Owens. I heard he was thinking of asking her some time."

Alfie made a sickened face. "Oh Merlin, not him."

Max snorted so hard he was almost coughing. "You're just bitter because he beat you in that race around the castle". Alfie scowled at Max and Joshua.

"Let the man talk."

"Thank you, Scor! Anyway, I'd rather you than some other twat, so we're going to help you out. Your current attempts are genuinely painful."

"Thanks, I've really been pulling out all my best moves." Scorpius declared in the flattest voice he could muster. "I've always planned to shout at girls that I like in cupboards."

"And that is exactly why we're going to help you." Max hit right back.

Albus rolled his eyes. "Anyway, me being her cousin, and these two being slick gits," he thumbed at Joshua and Max, each flanking his side, "means that we've formed a little plan." He looked over to Alfie. "He'll just help us remember to be decent humans."

Alfie raised a hand. "Challenge accepted."

"The ball's in 3 months, which is enough time to work with."

"Yeah, and you could be in her pants in one if you followed my instruct- and she weren't a respectable lady who is Albus' dear cousin."

"I'm stepping in here to say that you should never talk about another _human being_ like that." Alfie looked at Joshua with a slight edge of disbelief on his face. "Seriously, that's creepy shit."

"Oh come _on_ , tell me you never thought about Sabrina like that?"

Alfie raised his eyebrows unhappily.

"Can I finish?" Albus sighed. "By our reckoning, there's next weekend's Quidditch match, at least two Hogsmeade visits and however many Slug Club meetings to work with."

"And it's way too soon to aim for asking her to the first one, so we'll go for the second."

"What's it going to be, like a group date? Because I hate to break it to you, but I'm not into that kind of-"

"I'd rather die, mate, than imagine that ever again."

"Right." Albus looked between Max and Scorpius, trying desperately to not think about what they were thinking about. "Pretending that never happened, I think there's something you can do for the first visit."

"Oh yeah?"

"Since Al has a secret insider's link, he might know where she'll be going."

"Oh, you don't say!"

Joshua laughed dryly and Scorpius' sarcasm. "Then we can just happen to turn up there, and then Alfie or Max or someone can 'pretend' to be in trouble. We make a swift exit, charming her lovely friends with her, and you're all alone."

Scorpius stared at them blankly. Hogsmeade weekends were usually prime time for Max and Joshua to woo whoever their latest crush was. "You'd give up a Hogsmeade visit to help me out?"

"Of course, Scorpius."

"Slicker than you could dream though we may be, we're still your friends."

Scorpius matched their smiling faces. "Thanks."

He'd never meant it more.

"But that's a couple of weeks away. In the meantime, and to actually do any of this, you've _got_ to be on speaking terms."

"Since you sound like an idiot when you're talking to her when she's with her hot friends, or there are people around to watch your idiocy, you've got to start trying to help her more in lessons and finding her in the library."

"She goes to the library?"

"Sure." Alfie shrugged, as though everyone knew. That they all rounded on him and with shocked expressions said otherwise. "She's Rose Granger-Weasly?" He offered, as though that explained it all. He rolled his eyes in reaction to their unchanging faces. "Okay, probably should've said so sooner. She goes there late in the evenings, sometimes in free time with her friends, but I saw her on her own there near closing time, Thursday and Friday evenings loads last year."

"Alfie, I will never be able to repay you."

"Oh, I'll think of something." He grinned, and there was a dark hint in his eyes. Scorpius only hoped to Merlin's sweet beard it wasn't something like trying to capture the Giant Squid because that thing is fucking terrifying.

"So, library and classes aside, for we can only hope that you get put on prefects rounds together, and you'll be forced to talk!"

"Yeah, but that depends when James changes the rounds next." Scorpius mumbled. He'd been put with Grace Hill who was nice, but she could talk a ghost to death.

"He's changing them in two weeks."

"Oh yeah, I forget he's your brother sometimes." Joshua opined. "He's just— he looks more Weasley…?" He added at Albus' sour look.

"Yeah, well, anyway Scor, just talk to her like you did in potions the other day."

Scorpius frowned. "Wait, what bit?"

"You know, when you suggested that she knock the heat up by three degrees, she actually did it when your back was turned. And she wasn't scowling, either."

"Wha- seriously?!"

"Yeah, she does it all the time. I called her out on it when you went to put the Snail Bile away, and she didn't say anything."

"Albus, you're a great friend, but I fail to see where that's even relevant."

Albus sighed. "You call out Rose for something she doesn't have an answer for, it's the only time she'll ever stay silent."

"Huh."

"So… you're saying… that she's secretly in love with me—"

"—that you have a chance."

Albus and Scorpius looked at each other awkwardly. "Yeah, don't get too excited yet, mate. You've still got a long way to go."

"But if we manage to pull this plan off, you've got a more than decent chance."

Albus nodded in agreement. "She was always my favourite cousin when we were younger. I know her well."

"So, just so it gets into your shiny head, let's make it clear: talk to her whenever your tongue decides to unravel, fly your arse off at Quidditch, maybe she'll even talk to you at the Slug Club meeting, have a 'coincidental' meeting in Hogsmeade, and then…"

"What's then?"

Max grinned darkly. "Well then you've got to ask her out."

"What — like to the ball?!"

"Don't be so dramatic!

"Maybe Slughorn will put another Slug Club meeting in between. That way you can ask her there." Alfie offered nonchalantly, surfacing from his deep staring match with the carpet for the first time in a while.

"And if not, then just ask her to the three broomsticks. It's better than going to that stupid 'Cupid Arrow's Cupcakes'." Max groaned.

"Only because Dominique wouldn't go there with you."

"Shut it." Max rolled his eyes and leant back into the soft cushions of the sofa, playing with his wand.

"Then, when you're at Hogsmeade, she might have decided you're decent, and that maybe she does want to go to the ball with you."

"I think it's a decent play." Alfie added, nodding approvingly at the enthusiastic group.

"Got the humanist's approval, have we?"

"I mean, she's still a person. She might like someone else now, or by then."

"Nah, I asked." Albus declared. "She wasn't lying, I don't think."

"Then you've got a chance. And of course, I want it to go well." Alfie smiled at Scorpius, who smiled back gladly.

"I'm still putting ten-to-one odds on it actually happening like that."

Scorpius shrugged, still grinning his head off. "Sure, whatever you say. Good night, lads, sweet dreams." And he stood up, hopped over the back of the sofa catching the back of his left foot and hopping like a lunatic for a second. "Oh, and thank you." He called behind him before breezing up the stairs to bed.

"Mental." He heard Joshua and Max chorus behind him.

Yeah, Scorpius thought, they were probably right.

* * *

Later that week, when it was already getting dark outside and all the irritating little first years were banned from the corridors, Scorpius was on his way up to the prefect's bathroom, towel slung over his shoulder, and jeans and a grey jumper on in place of his robes. His mother had always quite liked muggle clothing, and he and his father had unconsciously adopted it more and more throughout Scorpius' childhood. His mother had always been inviting people over, going to the local village's church meetings and all that. She liked to keep the big, empty house as full of life as she could. That is, until she got ill.

Scorpius traipsed up the last few stairs significantly more downtrodden than all the others. He'd had that dream again, that dream in the room. And every time he had that dream, thought about what had really happened, he couldn't help but get the sense that everything had just gone wrong and wrong and wrong since then...

He almost tripped up the last stair. A ghost giggled at him.

"Oh. Evening Alys." He smiled at the ghost of the little girl with the faint Welsh accent. She'd been a second year when she died seven hundred years ago, running in the Forbidden Forest. It's said that that was when the Forest first got its name - all the nasty stuff living in it came afterwards. Well, it's what Hagrid attested and you could never quite guess what lived in the forest that he deemed the 'nasty stuff'.

"Evening Scorpius. 'ow're you doin'?"

He shrugged. "It's sixth year, so things are getting pretty tight. How's your tower? Why're you so far away from it, anyway? Isn't this like the other side of the castle from the Owlery?"

"Oh, well, you know. It gets a bit cold out there at night, so the owls go crazy in there. Bedlam, I tell you." She shook her head and drifted off, leaving Scorpius to gale at the wall in confusion. How did she even know what Bedlam was? Did ghosts use the library at night? Could they even hold a book, retain information-? He watched the young girl drift off behind him, not a care in the world, yet there Scorpius was, now questioning everything he knew.

They'd met in Scorpius' first year, when he and Albus had fought and, instead of going straight back to desperately scouting for somewhere to sit where he wouldn't be harassed, Scorpius took a detour into the ground floor of the Owlry. And there had been Alys, sitting there so perfectly still that when she first spoke to him Scorpius could've sworn he'd died inside. A friend though she may not quite be, she had been decent company when Scorpius had been utterly alone.

Shaking his head, he took a left and walked down the corridor to the Prefect's Bathroom.

Frankly, the Prefect Bathroom's toilets were the only nice ones outside of the dormitory toilets, but it was actually the baths that Scorpius liked best. Especially when Myrtle was taking the day off. He wouldn't admit it to his friends, but he did quite enjoy just hanging out in the baths - the bubbles, the nice scented oils and shampoos and…

Yes, he knew it sounded feminine, but somehow, he'd stopped giving a damn when the gay rumour had finally calmed down two years ago.

In his hand was a letter, edges slightly crumpled, that his father had sent him this morning. He'd assured Scorpius that no, he wasn't leaving the washing in a pile on the floor, and he was cooking well. But in a show of subtle reading heretofore unseen by his father, he'd actually picked up on the short, anxiety-laden sentence Scorpius had put in his letter: 'We're 'encouraged' to take dates to the Ball with us. I have someone in mind but... girls are girls." His father had written back that he'd actually dated a bit in his Hogwarts days, but he'd married his mother at 19, and the only people he'd ever asked out were fellow purebloods.

There were expectations and regulations for that - you asked the father of the girl instead of the girl herself, which, Scorpius had swiftly concluded many years ago, was a lot easier than the usual way. His father wrote that the best way to ask a girl was plain and outright, and to always be clear - because it's easy to say something stupid that can harm another. Scorpius snorted, he had a feeling his dad had no right to be the one lecturing him on how to treat his peers. He'd heard the stories of his father's Hogwarts years, and no matter how much he wanted to believe that the man he loved now could once be so awful to his classmates, it was something that he knew he was going to have to accept. It was certainly not as bad as the rumours all said, though - that he knew to be true.

But in the letter, innocuously hidden in the middle of a long paragraph, was something that made Scorpius' stomach twist uncomfortably.

 _Remember always that you're a Malfoy, Scorpius. A proud member of the ancient family, a member of the Sacred 28. You are a pure-blood, and whoever you chose to pursue a romantic relationship with is important. The girl I chose throughout Hogwarts was a fellow member of the Sacred 28, and after she died, I married your mother - another of the Sacred 28. Whilst blood status is not as important to me as it was to your grandparents, I was brought up in a very different time. I only want to see you happy, but the treatment by your pure-blood peers may not be worth it in the end. Many of the other pure-blood families are still not so forgiving. We retain our ancient place on the Scared 28 only very tenuously at this point, thanks to your mother's bright and progressive views. So whilst I want you to be happy above anything else, please son - pick wisely. And remember, she will be subject to the pure-blood traditions._

And from what Scorpius knew of the pure-blood traditions, they were _weird_. They included (from what his mother had told him of when she married his father) passing a particular test of magical ability; being able to recite old views with perfect accuracy; fitting the bill of the patriarch of the most senior family of the Sacred 28 (and who the hell knew who that was anymore), and being married off very, very young. Because, you know. Sex before marriage is 'wrong'. In other words: these rules were weird archaic things that really didn't have a place in this world, but hey it'd make his dad happy if he didn't live to see his two families crossed off the Sacred 28 in his lifetime!

He sighed heavily as he reached the statue of Boris the Bewildered, he paused, staring into the knight's angry face but not really seeing it. Rose Granger-Weasley may pass their test of magical ability with flying colours, but oh boy even if she grew to give him the time of day he guaranteed she'd hate the rest. Half-blood and famous though she was, member of the Sacred 28 she was _not_.

"Malfoy?" Scorpius blinked rapidly, snapped from his daze by the very object of his thoughts. "Why is it that I only ever seem to see you stuck in a daze?"

"Um, well it's just because I'm always struck by your beauty...?" He offered, truer than she knew, but came out so much like a question he wasn't surprised when she frowned.

"You know, I was getting to know classroom-Malfoy, and I think I like him better." She sighed, with a half-smile lazily on her lips. She came to stand in front of him, instead of hiding behind the knight's statue and tilted her head very slightly. Was she…. Did she not hate him?! Was this an actual, real life, outside of classroom conversation?!

She did look _so_ beautiful, though. Her hair, damp, lay in relaxed ringlets down to her mid-back and so dark with the water it looked almost like a particularly red pomegranate. And _beautiful_. Her skin was soft looking and even, marked with irregular, and fading, freckles, and the lights caught her eyes in a way that made them twinkle irresistibly. He mumbled something in awe under his breath and watched how her ruby red eyebrows raised in response. She smelled so strongly of roses.

"What? Why're you staring?"

"Oh, uh, I was just saying that I agree." He coughed awkwardly and shuffled his feet, looking down. He finally looked back up to catch her examining his jumper carefully.

"I see." She mumbled suspiciously. She sighed, and folded her arms over her chest. Well, maybe she had once been slightly flirtatious with him but crossed arms were never a good sign. "You know, you're getting better at transfiguration. Your cat's even looking more relaxed these days." She commented. They'd been working on changing the features of their animals for the past few lessons. And whilst Rose had made her owl white, black and every shade in between within the first lesson alone, four lessons later and Scorpius was finally succeeding in making Theia look like a tiger.

"Well, Theia has always really wanted to be a tiger inside. She's always known she has a greater destiny than being just my cat."

Rose snorted. "I bet."

"Can you give me any tips?"

"No. I don't want you to overtake my lead." She frowned, jerking herself back slightly. Well, _that_ was a misstep.

"Want me to help you out with potions in return?"

She scoffed, looking up at the hanging lights. "Are you continuing to insinuate that you think I need your _help_?"

"No, no I- I didn't; I didn't mean that! At all!" He spluttered, stepping towards her and reaching out her arms, but she only walked further away from him.

She looked at him with a very guarded expression and rolled her eyes. She opened her mouth to say something, but dropped it, without a second thought.

"Rose, wait!"

"No." She yelled, and he watched her retreating form.

"Then- I'll see you in the library!" Or any other class you have together, he reminded himself as he felt his gut contract with embarrassment.

She stopped, half turning to face him. "But you're never in the library." She responded in a low voice, more to herself than anyone else. But she was gone, walking away again with her ruby curls bouncing against her back with every step. He watched them like a hypnotising metronome until she was too far away, and he was left with only his thoughts and a password he realised he didn't even remember.

* * *

Fridays brought Herbology, and Quidditch nerves. What with them being over a month into the term and the fact that dates were an encouraged part of the Phoenix Ball, the flirting had gone over the edge. He didn't even know if the hormones in the air were making him more nervous than the prospect of their upcoming game, but Scorpius swore, if he got paired with Mia Clarke one more time-

"Scorpius, you're with Mia." Professor Longbottom pointed to a table with tarantacula on it, lashing out and just waiting to be pruned. Scorpius tensed his jaw and nodded, slapping on his signature bright smile. Well, he hoped it was his signature expression anyway. Merlin knows Albus' was a fed up owl and Max' a smug bastard.

"Come on Mia, let's… show these plants who's boss." Alfie snorted violently from next to him as he followed the blonde to their table.

Alfie had often mentioned how uncanny it looked to see the pair. Mia was unquestionably pretty, with long, light blonde hair, pale skin, and red lips that always seemed to be smiling mischievously. The only thing that set them apart were Mia's large, dark irises. Almost black, shimmering dark brown if the right light hit them. Alfie had said that they looked as though he and Mia could be siblings; that she was the female version he could've turned out to be - just with a less ludicrous name. The thought made Scorpius' head spin slightly. She had been so desperate to get in his pants from fifth year up, that he'd often wondered what it might be like to shag the female version of himself. Weird, mostly, and there were other women he'd rather it be. One, in particular, was a stand out choice. He watched as she and Alfie almost took a place across from him, but apparently she had second thoughts upon seeing he and Mia together, and they moved over to nearer Professor Longbottom, an old family friend of hers. She was close with his daughter, it was said. And boy did Scorpius know all about that kind of stuff.

Alfie and Rose deftly worked together on caring for the Mimblus Mimbletona, a very dear plant to the Professor for who knows why. Scorpius watched them for a moment and internally pleaded with Alfie to drop his morals for a second; they needed him to needle where Rose went in her free time from her, since the two got on the best aside from Albus. And if he could spend every spare second talking about how great Scorpius was, it would be muchly appreciated.

But Mia would not leave him to ogle the pair in silence; she kept on standing so close to him, insisting on pruning his tarantacula, leaning over him and resting her hands on his bare forearms more than he really enjoyed. He returned her fluttering eyelashes with narrowed, confused eyes, and he watched her twirl her hair, but it didn't do anything for him - unlike when Rose played with her beautiful hair. It smelled like roses, and she often smelled like grass - especially on Wednesdays, after Quidditch practice. Not that he deliberately noticed these things...

"Scorpius?" Mia cooed, looking up at him with wide eyes. If she didn't utterly cheapen herself like this for him, he'd have so much more respect for her as a person. Pot meet kettle, he knew. But he failed so much in social settings that he presumed he probably didn't count as hitting on someone as much as she did. And he always did up his shirt buttons to an appropriate level.

"Yeah, Mia?" He replied, looking down at the fairly short girl.

"Are you think about your mum? Are you still upset about her death?" Her voice adopted this saccharine, overly soft and sweet tone as she simpered far too much for her dignity's safety at him.

He froze, jaw hanging slightly open, sheers still open in his hand, hovering over some thrashing tentacles. "Erm, I'm doing fine… thanks." It wasn't a pleasant topic and one that he didn't particularly enjoy being brought up in the middle of class by a person he wasn't close with. Besides, she never bothered asking at the time, why three years later? It wasn't even the anniversary of her death or her birthday or anything.

"Well," her voice became lower, and she stood on her tiptoes to whisper her next words into his ear, breath tickling the sensitive shell of his ear and tone shifting to anything but compassionate. "If you ever need, y'know, _cheering up_ then you know where to find me."

Scorpius' mouth fell open, and he coughed stiffly a few times. He wasn't a trained lothario, like Joshua and Max were, but he was pretty sure he understood what she meant. And, well, he was only a sixteen-year-old boy. But not the Joshua and Max kind of sixteen-year-old boy. "Thanks, Mia." He finally managed to cough out. "But you know, I think I'm good for now."

The rest of their lesson passed in much the same way as before, but oh it felt awkward for Scorpius. And as Professor Longbottom finally dismissed them for lunchtime, Mia managed to spill their clippings all over the floor.

"You guys go ahead," he called to Albus and Alfie as they approached with their packed bags, "I'll meet you up at lunch."

Mia was taking so long on her side; he'd thought everyone else must've gone by the time they had finally gathered everything back up. "Hey Scorpius, I wanted to ask you something."

His stomach seemed to solidify as soon as she said those words. Hadn't she already put him through enough this lesson? "Sure, what do you want?"

"Want to go to the Phoenix Ball with me?"

"Oh." He shuffled awkwardly as they stood in the bright doorway of greenhouse number 6. "Well, there's actually someone else." He mumbled, giving her an apologetic look as he shoved his hands deep inside his pockets. He was dying to say 'anyone else', but he knew he'd probably get a slap and an even more tarnished name for doing that.

She huffed, folding her arms across her chest which somehow only served to make her boobs look even bigger. "Who, then?"

Scorpius' lips pulled into a half smile. "Just this girl. But I've had her in mind for a long time now." Six whole years, in fact, he neglected to add.

Mia frowned, and her nostrils flared very slightly as she moaned in anger. "Scorpius, I'll be straight with you. I'm hot. You're hot. We're both sixteen, and I'll fuck you right now. What the hell is wrong with you?" Before he really knew what was happening, she had a hand on the side of his head and kissed him. It wasn't particularly pleasant, but the longer she persisted, the more he got into it. Actually, he was starting to see why Max and Joshua were so into this so much…

She let him go. He opened his mouth and shut it again, repeatedly and mechanically. That was his first ever kiss that wasn't from his mum or grans, and honestly, _now_ he got it. He was almost about to lose his morals. He was so damn close to just saying yes. And then he thought of Rose. He flushed, and suddenly felt inflamed with shame. "I-uh... thanks. I'll- I'll think about it..?" He offered weakly, and she groaned in frustration as she stormed back off up to the castle, leaving a stunned Scorpius spluttering behind.

Wiping a hand across his mouth, at least he finally understood how her lips were always so red - lipstick came off all over his hand. He didn't know how long he was there for, but he felt someone approach behind him. "I don't know what that was, but I'm going to try and forget that as much as you're trying to forget that." Professor Longbottom's northern accent drawled behind him. Scorpius froze, mortified as his face went boiling hot. Slowly, feeling returned to his fingers and toes as the heat flooded over all of his body, leaving a trail of painful goosebumps all over his skin. He cringed, and his shoulders slumped as he turned to see the Professor struggling to keep a straight face behind him. He couldn't even bring himself to speak - what would he say? But the professor saved him the torture as he left the glasshouse before Scorpius.

"I'm so, _so_ sorry, Professor." He offered weakly at the professor's back, who held up one hand in lazy acknowledgement. Scorpius looked up at the sky in silent despair, hoping to whatever gods there were that _no one_ else saw that. And when he finally turned back to the greenhouse to pick up his bag, he thought he really was the only person left.

But then he heard some footsteps. Harsh and sharp against the stone floor.

 _Click_

 _Click_

 _Click_

"You are unbelievable, Malfoy."

* * *

 _Okay! So, who do you all think that was? Let me know your guesses!_

 _As always, please review if you've got time (_ pleaaaase _) and follow for more. Thanks!_


	7. The Match

_**Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter**_

 _Thank you to AMBERJANUS, momo, Guest and Guest, and BellaStoria for your reviews! Let's see which one(s) of you were right in your guesses..._

 _We're in for a long one this week, so grab a snack and/or a drink and settle in._

 _Enjoy!_

* * *

 _Chapter 7: The Match_

 _"You are unbelievable, Malfoy."_

The words had been ringing in his ear for a week, giving him convulsions when he slept and blocking out everything Professor Henrich sad - not that that was always a bad thing. They rang in his ears as he hurried down to the Dungeons after Quidditch practice the next Friday alone, because Albus had drawn the short straw of tidying up with Jayden Hall. He shivered to himself again, trying to get that beautiful voice saying such terrible things out of his head. Every time he heard it, he heard it in a new way. Her disbelief, her emphasis on 'unbelievable', and then the fact that after all these years, she still only ever called him 'Malfoy'.

Oh, Merlin. He really might be done for this time.

Scorpius was barely conscious when he got back to the dorms next Friday, after three hours of potions followed almost immediately by Quidditch practice that came after an intense week of training. But Alfie advised him that he'd seen Rose in the library, and so it was a quick shower and then off out again. He was so tired his legs could barely carry him all the way up to the library entrance on the third floor, but he did eventually make it after a lot of spacing out and hard breathing. He felt like one of the 'Zomboids' Joshua had been telling him about from the films he watched back in muggle London. Silently, he searched the peaceful rows of despairing students until he heard Rose's voice. He crept around the bookcases until he could finally see her, and about seven other friends all around her. Scorpius sighed, disheartened, and decided to instead sit down at the other end of the next bench along; he could still hear them slightly, and he could see Rose if he strained his eyes just right, but he didn't want to seem like a _complete_ stalker. He forced himself into his Transfiguration book, practising the wrist movements over and over again, and reading and re-reading the passages in his book until all the words looked suspiciously similar. Even if you'd held a wand to his throat, he couldn't for the life of him tell you the minutia of transfiguring a wing into an arm.

Albus had been furious with Scorpius by the time he made it up to lunch last Thursday, barely talking to him for hours and only finally blowing up in that characteristic Albus way that evening, opening up a sea of painfully bad jibes from his friends. And if by chance the universe had been trying to make things worse, then it had succeeded. He would probably never be able to forget how the feeling of pure horror that coursed through him when he turned around, and saw Rose standing in the Greenhouse, the bright sunlight shining down on her, and pure disgust in her eyes. It was like a scene from his nightmare, a look in her eyes that he'd promised himself since he was eleven that he would never, ever cause if he could help it. Without another word, she stormed past him, leaving Scorpius, alone, spending way too much time in the Herbology house that he'd ever wanted. It took him ages to convince his friends that Mia jumped him, and he wasn't sure he'd ever get that chance with Rose. Or that she'd even care. There was a very high chance that Scorpius just couldn't bring himself to acknowledge that she was only so disgusted because she and Mia really didn't like each other.

Scorpius He glanced over at Rose and her friends surreptitiously. He recognised a few girls as her dorm mates; Paige Finnegan and Jasmine Thomas - girls who were the daughters of Rose's father and uncle's dorm mates during their time in Hogwarts. The Potter-Weasley-Longbottom-Finnegan-Thomas group was legendary amongst students for perhaps becoming the most famous dorm in history. Harry Potter and Ron Weasley were famous for obvious reasons, and Professor Longbottom was well known in Hogwarts for being one of the teachers who wouldn't go out of his way to be a dick sometimes. Seamus Finnegan had gone on to be Ireland's most prestigious and one of Europe's most renowned pyrotechnicians, and Dean Thomas was head of Muggle Relations in the ministry until just a few years ago, when he joined the Wizengamott full time. Paige had an underlying hint of her father's famous Irish accent, but Scorpius barely knew her, whereas Jasmine was Scorpius' semi-friend from History of Magic. After fours years of constant mutual interest in the subject, they now sat together in that class - although there was only four of them, so not leagues of choice. And after four years together, Scorpius had been so shocked he almost choked on his own tongue when she cracked her first off-colour joke. He had not taken her for that type, but it did make Professor Binn's ridiculous tangents much more enjoyable. He caught her smiling widely as she sat with her friends now and Rose scratched her head at the strange joke she must've just told.

He scratched his chin with the end of his feather. He'd probably be interested in her if he weren't so madly in love with her friend.

He recognised Lydia Griffiths, too, of course, and Louis Weasley, the man so handsome he'd already been asked to the ball by at least thirty people. Hell, even Scorpius would snog him if he asked. There were a couple of Gryffindor and Ravenclaw boys he didn't recognise gathered around the table, too. Rose was actually smiling and laughing with them, a sight so rare and wonderful he thought he might be dreaming. Especially with the renewed cold-shoulder she'd been giving him lately. He only ever saw her happy when she was paired with her friends in Herbology (which didn't happen often), or when he saw her outside of class and he wasn't making a complete fool of himself.

It made his heart sink slightly to think that there were other men who made Rose smile like he never did. He often wondered if he was being completely selfish, desperately trying to get her to like him when there was probably a hoard of other boys who she already liked a hundred times more than him. But he at least wanted to try with her; he knew that if he gave up now, without really having done anything, he'd never forgive himself. Besides, he barely remembered life without Rose Granger-Weasley. He didn't think that even was life anymore.

The words on the page appeared in double now, so he shut his Transfiguration book with a heavy thud and picked up his History of Magic book.

 _Ancient muggles were no better than modern muggles when it comes to accepting magical citings. A famous Roman General wrote in his biography that he saw a unicorn in the forests of Gaul (modern day Germany), which has been unanimously debunked by muggle scholars. However, unicorns often gather in German forests - with some believing that-_

But what about _Rose_.

She wouldn't even tell Albus why she hated him so much. That'd been the first hiccough in the plan: Albus couldn't get her to talk about him at all. Nothing more than a brief dismissal of his existence. What if it was to do with the Slytherins? What if she subscribed to all those rumours about him and his family? He hoped it wasn't just that she didn't care, and that by some miracle, she didn't already have a date.

But maybe Albus had been wrong, he hadn't known his cousin as well as he'd thought, and there was another man all along. Some perverse part of him wouldn't have even minded, as long as she was happy. Even if she was a bit mean in their earlier years, she wasn't a nasty person. He knew that she was the best person he'd ever met. She was kind to those around her, always (perhaps overzealously from the stories he'd heard) helped out the house elves. She was popular, pretty and smart...

But the feeling of jealousy still spread out through his body slowly from his suddenly clammy chest, and he felt ill to the pit of his stomach. Merlin, hormones were the worst.

The words of his book just weren't going into his brain again - he'd ended up reading about the 12th-century Wizard's Revolt without even realising it. He sighed, and shut the heavy book with a loud thunk, frowning.

When his father had said 'enjoy the year', This can't have been what he meant. This wasn't enjoyable; this was distracting, confusing and borderline destructive. Being a teenager was horrible. Being one of the most unpopular teenagers in the school and not knowing how to fix it was even worse.

He opened his potions book and the letter he'd received from his father a few mornings ago slid out.

 _Scorpius,_

 _I hope you're enjoying yourself. Don't worry about me, work is keeping me nicely occupied - we've got several interesting bills coming through, a couple are big ones Minister Granger-Weasley worked on personally, so they should be entertaining to read. I'll tell you about them over Christmas._

 _Don't get too wound up in this Ball. Remember that if it's not giving you happiness, it's probably either not meant to be, or only going to end up hurting you. I don't mean to sound like a sappy teenager, but without your mother around, I'm afraid I'm the only parental source of advice you have. Even if it's not great, you should take it. I am your father after all - if nothing else._

 _And on the flip side of that, please do remember my words about pure-blood customs. I know they're archaic and strange, but they were the traditions people of my generation were raised with. Until this way of thinking is eradicated, I'm afraid you just have to grit your teeth and deal with it._

 _Good luck for the game on Saturday, Scorpius. I know you'll do wonderfully. I await your blow-by-blow account._

 _Love,_

 _Your Father_

His dad was right. He pushed the letter aside - he'd write a reply after the game. Well, providing he didn't end up in the infirmary. That had happened at least twice during training, according to his not-so-wonderful recollection.

Scorpius turned his attention instead to his potions book. His father had given it to him; Slughorn had never bothered to change the set textbooks since he became potions-master again in the 90s, so he inherited his parent's old ones. Both were full of his parent's scribblings in the margins; what else to add here and there, whether to crush the ingredients or chop them, how many times you really should stir the mixture. His mother had excelled at potions, and his father had been friendly with the famously short-lived Headmaster, Severus Snape.

They'd been close when his father was young, Scorpius' mother had told him. He'd seen his father terrified, helpless and desperate for some kind of help. Well, that was what his father said. He never talked about it any more than that. He couldn't. It wasn't anything his mother would ever talk about, either, so Scorpius was left to wonder at the gaps and ignore the nasty rumours. Even if he knew very little about what other people thought on the recent past, the Severus Snape that Scorpius had imagined from his parent's accounts was different than the one he was sure Albus knew from his parent's past. So he never brought it up with his friend; it wasn't his place to do anything like that and he didn't want to try and start a fight.

It was times like this when he wished his mother was still around. He would've killed to just write a letter to her now and receive some comforting words back. Even a few short words and some of her sweets would've made him unbelievably happy. His father was like Scorpius in appearance and talents only; he was so withdrawn from the world now that he was barely a shell of who he probably used to be. But his mother, she was everything to Scorpius; gentle and sweet and the kind of warmth he'd never feel again. He felt like he'd lost part of him when his mother died.

He was jolted from that warm, desperate part deep inside himself when he heard a group of people trudge past him, and caught Rose passing by flanked by two of the boys he didn't know, the others trailing after her.

"Scorpius!" Louis Weasley smiled happily down at the dazed boy.

Scorpius snapped out of his thoughts and looked up at the tall, strawberry-blonde boy. A handsome face, a startlingly symmetrical smile, friendly bright blue eyes that creased attractively when he smiled and a body that he somehow maintained without much exercise... Scorpius took a brief moment to question exactly how straight he really was. "Oh, hi Louis!" He slapped on a grin, pushing his thoughts to the side. It was probably just because he was so tired.

Louis looked as though he was going to say something, but thought better of it. Oh for the love of Arthur - he'd probably heard about the shouting incident. Or maybe the Mia Clarke thing... he hoped for the former. He bet all the cousins had heard about that one, and a shiver ran down his spine uncomfortably. "Good luck for the game, Scorpius. I know I shouldn't be wishing you luck, but it can't harm." He grinned. He looked over to the retreating group as one of the boys Scorpius don't know called him over, "Sorry, gotta run - wish Albus luck too, yeah?"

Scorpius nodded and waved as he left. Louis was a kind soul; one of the first of Albus' cousins to treat him kindly, even when they still said that he was Voldemort's Son.

Scorpius looked back to the page he was on - page 347 - and sighed. He was too tired for this. Stretching out his aching limbs, he packed everything away and went straight back to his dorm.

There, he found Theia sleeping soundly, curled up squarely in the centre of his bed.

"We thought we'd give you a nice treat." Max said softly, from the bed to the right of Scorpius' - Albus was soundly asleep across the room from Scorpius' bed.

It was one of those moments when he remembered why he was friends with them all. Aside from repeated exposure, of course. Scorpius laughed dryly. "You're such a caring arsehole."

Max shrugged and put a hand on his chest in mock-nobility. "I do try."

Scorpius laughed to himself and changed into his pyjamas, preferring to shower in the mornings, and clambered into bed, hugging a reluctant Theia like a teddy bear who wriggled free and lay over his legs instead.

Scorpius yawned widely as he adjusted his position until he was finally comfortable. It was easy to drift off to sleep that night, but the awful dream of the worst day of his life haunted him all night.

* * *

That next autumnal weekend brought the first Quidditch match of the year. Scorpius was dead tired from their intense training, studying, classes, and everything else the professors had mandated they have in their life. But Joshua had blasted a horn in his ear this morning, so at least he was very much awake - even if he was sure he'd just had a heart attack. Naoki Goldsmith, their ball-busting team captain, had, as ever, carolled the entire team at breakfast, dragging them over the details and a weather appraisal one last time. The Hufflepuff team was decent, Scorpius knew that, but he was sure that they'd win with all the training Naoki had forced them to put in.

Breakfast, after Naoki had finally left them in peace, was a quiet affair for Scorpius and Albus. The late October weather was cold, often rainy, and the tops of the mountains were dusted with icing-sugar-like snow. Scorpius looked up at the ceiling, chewing his toast slowly. It was raining ever so finely, the sky a murky grey and the clouds growing thicker by the moment, moving alarmingly fast across the sky. He sighed heavily, leaning his head on his hand. He hadn't seen outside yet, but he just hoped it wasn't too misty by the time play began.

The Quidditch this year promised to be fierce. Most other years, he and Albus hadn't even watched the Quidditch - but they both enjoyed playing it quite a lot. And then in their fifth year, the old seeker, Michael Brown, had broken his collarbone in a nasty accident, and so they'd had to replace him midway through the year. Scorpius had been shy to try out but did it with a heavy load of pushing from his newly-befriended roommates, and he'd managed, somehow, to get in. He didn't have anyone at home to play with him - his father only flew with him when he was a lot younger, and his mother had never flown that he was aware of. So he'd been used to flying alone, and he loved the feeling of being free, up in the air, with nothing to worry about, nothing to fear. He used to throw up a snitch, leave it for a while, and then come back later to chase it across the sky. It only made sense that he was a good Seeker. Albus had joined this year, with the very game they were about to play being his first.

It showed on his face.

"Planning on eating those eggs?"

Albus gave him a blank look. "I kind of feel sick."

"That's brilliant. Wasn't my question, though." Scorpius pushed the plate closer to Albus, who'd brushed it away with his arms only moments earlier. "You going to eat those eggs?"

"I'm going to force them up your arse at this rate."

"Oh really?" Scorpius smiled brightly. "I'm sure I'd love that. Eat!" He demanded, pushing cutlery into his friend's hands.

Albus rolled his eyes. "Alright alright, fine!" He chewed on the food angrily. "This wasn't actually such a bad idea…" he mumbled around a mouth half full.

"I've told you a hundred times, Al, we're going to be fine!"

Albus grunted in agreement. Then he chocked a little bit.

"Catch the eye of someone you like, little brother?" James smirked, coming to sit in front of his younger brother. He nodded to Scorpius. "Morning. I just came to say good luck."

Albus nodded and swallowed hard. "Thanks, James." They shared an uneasy smile. He was about to say something when Lily bounded over, brightly as ever. "Albus!" She grinned at her older brother. "Good luck, Al! Did you get the letter from mum and dad yet?" She was always smiling brightly and seemed to have boundless energy. If James was cool, collected and effortless in his manner, and Albus quiet, intelligent and calm, then Lily had no such words in her entire vocabulary. As bright as her ginger hair, she was always happy, always surrounded by friends. She'd been almost as popular as James and Rose when she'd made it to Hogwarts.

Albus nodded, clutching some parchment tightly in his left hand. "Got it this morning." That's when his mood had slipped even more. Albus had skimmed the lines of his father's writing quickly and then more slowly through his mother's words. It seemed she'd been giving him advice, and by her quite remarkable abilities, probably good advice. But then the dreaded words came: 'make us proud'. They weren't words Albus liked; in fact, they were words he'd been trying to fulfil his whole life and had become miserable when he thought he'd failed. He came from a family of Quidditch players, too. Unlike Scorpius, he'd had people to practice with all his life, so he had a hell of a long reputation to live up to and expectations to fulfil. Scorpius wasn't even sure his dad would've known he was on the team if he hadn't had to buy a broom.

Lily scrunched up her face at Albus' full mouth. "You look like Uncle Ron when Aunt Hermione's not around."

Albus shrugged. "I am half Weasley, too. Just because you two both look more like one than I do."

James snorted. "Genius. Truly, there is a reason why you're the clever one."

"Ah, sibling friendship." Scorpius reminisced out loud. "I just wish I could've seen the fights when you were younger."

"Yeah, I bet it'd be entertaining to watch your friend getting beaten up all the time." Lily sniggered.

"Hey! Hey, I was not-"

"-Even I beat you once, Al." Came Rose's voice; smooth yet tired, with a hint of playfulness lying underneath. She stood between Lily and James, a hand on the ginger girl's shoulder. Albus went to make a spluttering reply as Scorpius laughed at him before he choked on his food and gave up. "Oh and James, Penny's looking for you again. You know it's mean to keep stringing her along."

"Okay! Okay. I'll… talk to her." James rolled his eyes, standing reluctantly. "Good luck, Al. Make mum proud, eh?" He reached over the table and scuffled his hair, oblivious to Albus' sour expression.

"See you, James." Albus waved, and picked up his knife and fork again, finishing his breakfast.

"Well," Rose inhaled heavily. "I don't want to hang around unnecessarily…"

"Rosie!"

She gave Lily a warning look, flicking her ruby hair over her shoulder. "I'm off. Good luck, Al. I'll be rooting for you." She turned to leave. "And you, Malfoy."

Scorpius choked on his pumpkin juice, as Lily laughed at him.

"Man, you suck Scorpius. Can you function there, like, at all?"

Scorpius smiled. "I do try, Lily."

Scorpius surveyed the hall as Lily bounced away, waving to at least twenty or thirty people as she went. The room had filled almost to its capacity now, people from every house either still waking up or placing bets on the Quidditch match, or bouncing from the walls in lent up excitement. He even saw a couple of accidental sparks fly here and there. When you had no earth-shattering drama going on in the world outside Hogwarts, dates and Quidditch really were the only two things people cared about.

Alfie, Max and Joshua trudged down not long before Daniel Wood proudly strode in, and paced the space between the Hufflepuff and Slytherin table like he owned it. As he walked down to where his friends were gathered, a mix of Gryffindor red and Hufflepuff yellow, he waved his arms in the air to raise the Hufflepuff's cheer, and all the hall turned to watch. Favourite to win though they may not be, Daniel Wood certainly thought he ought to win on the merit of his existence alone. Scorpius rolled his eyes, and Daniel stopped suddenly, turning to face a secretly terrified Scorpius.

"What's wrong, Malfoy? Scared for your little friend there, are you?" He cooed, and the silence that followed echoed with a certain reverence.

Scorpius took a deep breath, half to cool himself, half to steady his nerves. Hundreds of eyes stared unblinkingly at him. He knew that everyone was listening. He also knew that he had a certain perception about himself that he really wanted to change.

"Not really, Daniel. Albus is great and I'm sure he'll do well."

"Oh yeah? Well maybe it's yourself you need to worry about. Our little Isla is faster than you could ever imagine." He pulled Isla Kay, the tiny third-year Hufflepuff seeker, up from her breakfast, and her eyes went wide.

The silence was punctuated every so often by a soft noise from Isla as Daniel gripped a hold of her collar tighter.

Scorpius leapt to his feet in response, leaning over the table with arms outstretched towards Isla, as the silence rolled on. "Daniel, look, I'm sure she's amazing and we'll see that today — why don't you put her down now?"

He let her go and she almost fell face first into the table before her friends saved her.

"Half your team shouldn't be allowed to play, anyway - filthy spawn of death eaters and criminals." He growled, walking off.

Albus pulled at the edges of Scorpius robe, but he ignored it, suddenly overcome with anger and passion. He thought of his father and mother. Their happy faces when they were all at home together, and how they transformed when they were on platform 9 3/4 for the first time. It had been horrifying.

"Don't judge us for things we never had control over! Judge us for who we are, instead. We aren't just Slytherins, some of us are in Gryffindor, in Ravenclaw — in your own house! We aren't our fathers and our mothers. It's fine not to like us, but don't just presume we're terrible for something that happened over twenty years ago, and that we can't change even if we'd give our lives to do it!"

His words rang out over the Great Hall, and Scorpius suddenly became aware that his hands felt like they were made of lead. Heavy, trembling lead. He fell back into his seat and looked to each of his friends. None of them said anything, but Albus smiled and Alfie gave him a thumbs up. Max and he caught eyes and nodded. They both understood what being the son of a criminal was like in a way that Albus, Joshua and Alfie could never.

Lookng thunderous, Daniel Wood sat at the end of the Hufflepuff table. Scorpius didn't dare chance another look over the rest of the students but, for the first time in his life, he caught Rose Granger-Weasley staring directly at him. So penetrating was her stare, it was like all the air had been pushed from his lungs at once. He couldn't breathe for a moment.

Naoki tapped him and Albus on the shoulder, and the pair turned to see the whole team gathered with him. They were beaming at him, and for the first time, Scorpius felt like he might've actually done something good. Even if it had been kind of an accident because he was antry, it gave him a warm chill right to the bones that made him want to shiver. Chatter slowly built up in the hall again as Naoki said, "It's time, Scorpius, Albus."

Albus' happy face immediately changed; the blood drained and his smile slipped like the hard rain hitting the castle's windows and slowly sliding down.

"Oh…"

"Bugger?"

"Yes. Possibly stronger." Albus muttered.

Alfie chuckled good-naturedly. "Relax! You'll be fine."

Albus gave him a deathly glare as he pushed himself up from the table slowly, like his limbs had turned to lead. He looked woozy and ill.

They traipsed down to the Quidditch pitch, where the Slytherin team waited. The conditions were terrible; the cloud was thick and almost black, the mist was low over the grass, and the fierce wind drove the hard rain crashing against their faces.

"This is crazy!" Scorpius heard Jayden Hall shout from some way in front of him. "Naoki, we can't play in this!"

"We don't have a choice." Naoki's voice sounded much further away than he was over the howling winds.

"But we might get blown off our brooms!" Katie Bulstrode added, "and if we fall, we might die!"

"Don't be so dramatic!" Oliver Wright said in a teasing voice, but Katie did not look amused. Oliver may've been right, Scorpius thought, but he didn't fancy getting blown off his broom in this weather.

"Team, into the changing room." Naoki declared, ushering them all like a heard of nervous sheep. They could all feel the pressure this morning. This make up of the team was relatively new and very much aware of it. Naoki's first match as captain, Albus was a new chaser; Scorpius wasn't a particularly seasoned seeker, and Jayden Hall was a young new-recruit who also happened to be a muggle-born. The wind howled outside as they changed into their quidditch robes.

"Now." Naoki began, hands on his hips, and flustered cheeks. "Now." His face was growing more red by the moment, chest artificially puffed. "Oh fuck it." He abandoned the bravado, taking his hands from his hips. "Look, we're Slytherins, okay? We're here to win - it's what we do. And we're going to get out there, use all our cunning and ambition and beat those Hufflepuffs if we have to break all our bones to do it, okay?" The team cheered, some of that sheer panic dissipating as they remembered who they truly were. "And that means no being stupidly nice, Scorpius Malfoy, and remembering who you truly are inside: competitive arseholes, despite your little speech."

"Nice one, by the way." Katie Bulstrode grinned at Scorpius, and Olier Wright and Amy Smith nodded along.

Jayden Hill looked amongst the group, confused, and eventually just gave up with a shrug. "I've got no idea, but really I hope Daniel stops being such a twat now."

They laughed at his resolution.

Naoki looked over his team, hands back on his hips and chest puffed with true pride this time. "We're competitive; we're in this to win it. And we're going to win it. And when we win this game, we're going to beat the next team, and we're keeping that trophy in Slughorn's office for him to admire with his gout. So who are we?"

"Slytherin!"

"WHO ARE WE?"

"SLYTHERIN!"

"Come on!" Naoki cried, a broad smile on his face. His broom in one hand, he beckoned the others out of the changing room and out onto the pitch where the Hufflepuffs were waiting looking particularly windswept. Scorpius didn't feel so nervous anymore, in fact, he felt excited when he heard the roar of the crowd around them. He looked over to Albus, grinning.

Captain Ashe stood between the two teams. "Bad weather, but games have been held in worse. Captains, shake hands."

Naoki stepped forward to meet Daniel Wood, and the air seemed to stiffen the moment their hands touched. The crowd baited its breath. Two firm shakes and a nasty look from Naoki when Daniel spat on the floor, and Captain Ashe stepped between them. Scorpius measured up the rest of the team; there was Isla Kay, the fourth year who was infatuated with Rose's brother, and Leo Black, the tall roommate of Louis. With the exception of Daniel Wood, these people were usually just Hufflepuffs - their friends. Even Albus' cousin, Roxanne Weasley was a chaser on the team. But just for this morning, they were all the enemy.

The captains stepped back, and Captain Ashe put the whistle to his lips.

"Three…

"Two…

"One…

A sharp blow on the whistle and they were off. Scorpius flew up into the air, making a beeline for the heights of the pitch. The wind and rain battered his face, pinning his fair further back and flatter to his head than it usually was. He saw the players on the pitch below him spread out, the markings on the grass even further down looking like the clumsy lines of a children's drawing. He swooped down a bit lower and began to circle, keeping a close eye on the game. So far, not much had happened.

"And that's Slytherin's Jayden Hall in possession of the Quaffle now, and he's passing it to Albus Potter now, and back to Jayden Hall. They're flying past Leo Black and towards Hufflepuff's goal and- Oh! Daniel Wood blocks it. Well, that's what you get when you're the son of Oliver Wood." Lysander Lovegood's voice floated up to Scorpius as he flew around the pitch, just above audience level now. He was better than his mother had allegedly been, although he and his twin took turns and in Scorpius' opinion, Lorcan was slightly better. Mostly because he preferred it when Lorcan artistically described him flying through the air. Then again, he had once described him as 'darkly flying through the air like the true son of the dark lord', which was less than complimentary. Or true.

The wind raged wildly, and Scorpius had to fight to fly in a straight line. It was unseasonably bad weather. He wasn't sure if it was the altitude, the fact that it was October or just Highland weather. He shivered, his nose numb as he looked down at everyone. His breath came out in a mist before his face, and he shivered again. Rain dripped in fat splashes on his head.

Scorpius continued to look around for the snitch as he flew, now past the Ravenclaw stand, now past the Gryffindor stand. No sign of the snitch, not yet. He kept an eye on Isla Kay, but she just seemed to be hovering above Hufflepuff's goal posts, searching with a distinct air of nervous desperation. And then she decided that tactic wasn't working for her, and set off.

As Scorpius flew back down to a more reasonable level, the wind picked up even more. He watched as Albus and Oliver were thrown around on their brooms, heard their yelps float up to him. He felt himself be pushed, as though by an invisible hand swatted him through the air. He saw Naoki struggling with the wind and swooped down close to him.

"What do we do?" He yelled at their captain, fighting against the wind desperately.

"Just look for the snitch!" Naoki screamed back, fighting to keep his position in the air before the wind quietened down a little bit, and they could finally stop fighting the weather so much. "End it before the wind bloody kills us- ahh!" Scorpius held Naoki upright as the wind whooshed them sharply to the left.

"Cheers." He breathed before flying back to his posts.

"Well everyone, the wind is now the biggest adversary, ladies and gentlemen! That was Scorpius Malfoy there saving the Slytherin keeper Naoki Greensmith. And they say Slytherins have no hearts." Lysander shouted. "Look at the players go! That's Slytherin in possession and oh-! Oh no, Albus Potter's been clubbed with a bludger an-" His speaker cut out as the wind battered the teacher's box. Scorpius watched Headmaster McGonagall and Professor Flitwick hurry around the box, casting charms around the teachers and the commentary device. Merlin knows how that thing even works. Scorpius flew in the mid-range of the pitch, desperately searching for the snitch. He just wanted to be out of this hellish weather and back in the warmth - whether they stuck to Naoki's plan didn't matter anymore.

"We're back!" Lysander beamed, getting back to his commentary. "The quaffle's back in Hufflepuff possession now, and quite far down the pitch. That's Roxanne Weasley, to Amelia Harris, then Archie Smith and- That's ten points to Hufflepuff!"

Scorpius clicked his tongue, flying even further down the pitch. The wind picked up significantly, clattering the players around on their brooms like children's playtoys.

"Amy Smith has the Quaffle now and — oh she's almost off her broom! - woah!"

Amy wobbled near the Ravenclaw stands, dropping the quaffle in the process but Albus swooped under her to catch it.

Scorpius skimmed over to the Hufflepuff goal posts, desperately searching the air with his eyes streaming in the wind.

"Call one of your dark magic pals to whip this up, did you?" Daniel taunted.

"Knock it off, Daniel! We don't have time for this." Scorpius yelled back, trying with all his might not to fly straight over there and throttle him.

Daniel made to fly over to him, but the wind picked up against and sent Daniel flying at top speed into him, and into the teacher's podium right behind that.

"No!" Scorpius yelled, and turned ninety degrees so he was perpendicular to the Hufflepuff goalie, ramming into him to knock him off course and the weight of the two of them together slowed them to a merciful halt. Scorpius lifted his head, heart beating in his mouth, and he saw that they had mercifully stopped inches from the teacher's podium. He sighed and pushed off from Daniel Wood, who didn't dare meet his eyes as Scorpius sped off.

"Yes, that's right folks. That was Scorpius Malfoy just saving both the teachers and Daniel Wood." The commentary paused as a heavy silence accompanied the screeching wind. Scorpius tried to ignore it.

"I- I think he may have had a point earlier." Came Lysander's only further comment. Scorpius tried to ignore the beat his heart skipped, and the warmth that spread through him despite the rain now utterly soaking him. As he adjusted his grip on the broom, it felt like he has puddles in the tips of each of his gloves' fingers.

"And that's Albus Potter with the quaffle and oh- is he going to- oh rights right! He scores! Ten points to Slytherin!"

The crowd picked up to a frenzied roar again and Scorpius flew close enough to his friend to shout a hurried congratulations.

It felt like hours in the next half hour that passed. The wind picked up to dangerous new heights, and Scorpius was really starting to become worried for them all. Amy Smith had already been grounded with a dislocated elbow, he just wanted anyone to catch the snitch at this point and they could finally all get down from the air.

Scorpius was flying past Isla Kay near the middle of the pitch when the wind picked up so ferociously it knocked all the air out of his lungs, suffocating him more than it had done before. His heart leapt into his mouth and the back of his throat was slippery with a metallic taste, looking to his teammates and watching them fight just as he was to stay on their brooms, never mind in the air.

He heard Isla give a strangled scream from nearby and he dove as fast as he could to catch her as she swung almost completely off her broom and was flung deathly fast into the ground. He caught her just as she was falling in slow motion before his eyes, almost as shocked that he got there as she was. She looked up at him with wide eyes, and he could feel her heart beat even with his numb hands as his own pulse thrummed in his ears. He could vaguely hear cheers or maybe jeers in the background.

"Are you okay?"

"Yeah… yeah, I'm okay." Scorpius nodded, helping her settle back on her broom.

"Are you sure? We can do a few laps together to make sure you're alright if you want?"

She could barely meet his eyes but nodded, and he let go of her, taking two fast laps around the pitch before they parted ways again.

Finally, his heartbeat had receded from his ears and he could hear again, and for the first time in his life, he heard people cheering his name.

"I don't believe it, ladies and gentlemen! Slytherin's seeker just saved Hufflepuff's Isla Kay from becoming a puddle of witch on the grass! With that and saving Hufflepuff's Captain, I think we have this match's hero." Lysander shouted from the stand, and Scorpius, smiling to himself, thought that maybe he did prefer Lysander after all.

He looked over at the scoreboard and saw that Slytherin had scored two goals now.

"The quaffle's in Albus Potter's possession now, and passing back to Jayden Hall, and back between the two and they're heading towards the goal- Oh! Oh, Merlin's Beard it's windy."

Scorpius felt himself be knocked by the wind again and — there. The Snitch! He drowned out anything but the fluttering, golden ball, hovering just below Hufflepuff's goal. He looked out for Isla - across the pitch, near the Slytherin stand. He flew, steadily at first, the gathering speed as he neared the snitch. He dove deep into the wind, battling against it and gritting his teeth as he flew. The feeling was just like being suffocated, and he gasped and spluttered against the wind. It was a deep dive, and as the snitch fluttered closer to the ground, it was going to be difficult to snatch the snitch and not get a face full of dirt. He could hear Lysander shouting and the crowd growing in an intensified cheer. He tugged hard on his broom, never letting the sight of the snitch go.

He pulled and pulled on his broom, groaning as he strained against the wind, and reached forwards until-

He felt the freezing cold metal ball in his fingers. The wings fluttered softly against his almost numb fingertips. He smiled, laughing in joyful splutters of disbelief.

"We have a winner! Slytherin wins 180-40 with a fantastic catch by Scorpius Malfoy!" Scorpius dismounted near the middle of the pitch, grinning with delight as Albus, Jayden, and his other teammates surrounded him "I think we can all say that Scorpius Malfoy has gone from zero to hero on this very memorable day. Congratulations to all team members!"

Albus gave him a wide grin and a firm hug as he landed.

"Did that bludger hit you too hard?" Scorpius grinned as his friend shook his head.

"I'm fine."

"Well, Scorpius," Naoki began, looking down at Scorpius now with fond, dark eyes. "I suppose I really was right to get you on the team." He clapped Scorpius on the back, who beamed with pride. "Congrats, kid."

* * *

 _Yeaaah that was a long one! But I really do hope that you liked it!_

 _What do you guys think Rose will have to say about this match? And do you prefer longer or shorter chapters? Let me know!_

 _As always, please review if you've got time_ _and follow for more. Thanks!_


	8. Mia Clarke

_Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter_

 _Hello, my friends! I'm back again. I got some good feedback about the length of the last chapter so, where possible (because I'm a student and hahaha what's spare time?), I'll try to make the chapters on the longer side!_

 _Thank you to my reviewers: **Guest, Guest, BellaStoria,** and **LuciousNesha!** I'm really glad that you're all still enjoying it, and wow thank you so much LuciousNesha! That's a super nice review, thank you so much! (I'm also massively jealous you actually got tickets for the Cursed Child - I've been trying for so long! I hope you like it)_

 _So, anyway... enough of that._

 _Enjoy_!

* * *

 _Chapter 8: Mia Clarke_

The party that night was electric. Slytherin common room had never been quite so full of life - even the lake creatures were staying to hover at the glass windows. Surprisingly enough, the strange looking gryndillows were actually very fond of dancing. They were creeping Scorpius out, but it was nice to think that he'd actually helped to create something great for once, and hadn't caused a mess. His team had made all these people happy... If he'd told his eleven-year-old self this when he'd been forced to hide from bullies in cupboards, he never would've believed it.

"You know, Scorpius, this looks pretty great for The Rose Plan." Albus grinned, slightly drunk off the fire whiskey that Naoki had 'procured' for the team for 'light celebration'. That was, many pooled bottles from the seventh years that the Slytherins were now several deep in. Scorpius, also tipsy, laughed back.

"I hope so."

"'The Rose Plan'?" A voice that Scorpius knew very well by knew asked from behind him. He turned, to see Mia Clarke, looking at him through narrowed, unfocused eyes. "That sounds suspicious. What is it?" She leant lightly on Max's shoulder, who was only too happy to oblige.

"Oh- nothing."

Mia frowned. "Okay." She sighed, blinking her wide black eyes heavily. "So, you want anything from me? Now that you're the school's golden boy and all…" she trailed off, coming to stand nervously close to him, putting a hand on his chest.

Scorpius looked down at the hand, wondering whether to pick it off or run away. "Uh-… look, Mia." He gave her a sympathetic frown. "I think you're a nice girl, but I just don't like you like that. I'm sorry."

She scoffed and rolled her eyes. "I still don't know why."

"I'm sorry. I know you're pretty, and I sure- you're a nice girl. But you sell yourself short. You'll end up with a good man, just calm it down."

"A good man. Right. Just not you." She looked down, eyes watering, nostrils flaring. "Fine." She declared, looking at him with red-rimmed eyes before marching off, up the stairs to the dormitories.

"Yikes." Albus hissed between his teeth. He and the rest of Scorpius' roommates gathered around him.

"Yeah, I feel bad though." Scorpius shrugged, taking the glass that Max offered him. "She's nice. She could do so much better for herself. She shouldn't just throw herself quite so plainly like that." Max rolled his eyes. "And I'm not interested anyway."

Max snorted. "Well, if you won't take her up on her offers, I will."

Alfie frowned. "Yeah, that makes sense. Go and comfort the girl that just got rejected by pulling all your moves on her." He raised a sarcastic thumbs up and stretched his mouth into a strained smile.

Max shrugged. "You do whatever you've got to do to get off. I'll do what I've gotta do." He followed Mia off up to the dormitories.

"You're still too nice to her, Scor. After everything she did."

Scorpius shrugged. "I'm sure she didn't mean to ignore me."

Alfie raised his eyebrows. "Is that really what you believe, or willful ignorance?"

"Oh, definitely willful ignorance. You see, I could always just _chose_ to believe that she didn't mean to leave me with a massive burn."

Frankly, it was something Scorpius didn't even care about anymore. The seventh years who'd never acknowledged him came over to talk, and the fifth and fourth years he'd barely ever met congratulated him and asked him for Quidditch advice. He spoke as well as he could, but it was really Albus who knew about that kind of stuff - and he made sure Albus got his fair share of the limelight, too.

Surprisingly, even Sophia Davis came to talk to him. She was the other Slytherin prefect - but she was taciturn, to put it nicely. Quiet, but not in a shy way. More in the 'I know I'm better than you so don't even try' way. She'd always rubbed Scorpius the wrong way - or perhaps it was his effect on her. But tonight she was actually civil.

"Congratulations, Scorpius. You really saved us all tonight." She smiled at him awkwardly, the air between the two tense.

"Oh," he scratched the back of his neck. "Thank you!" He beamed.

"By the way, the prefect's rounds are changing in two weeks - just to let you know. I'm happy to swap with you if you don't like the time you're given. You saved our team, and the Hufflepuff girl, after all. I'll take Freya's wrath in recompense." And without waiting for a reply, she turned walked back to the group of serious-looking students she was sitting with. But Scorpius was thankful nonetheless; it was nice, being well liked by the people around him. He felt at home for once, not continually conscious of the people around him slightly hating him inside.

He went up to his dormitory that night, buzzing - both from the alcohol and the sheer excitement. He didn't even mind Theia trying to walk all over the blow-by-blow account he wrote to his father. Before collapsing into his bed, he put the letter into an envelope Theia had helpfully inked a pawprint on the back of. When he fell asleep that night, he was perhaps the happiest he'd ever been whilst at Hogwarts.

—-

It didn't just stop at the Slytherins, however. People who'd been rude to him in the past apologised to him, and people he barely knew were congratulating him on 'his' triumph. It was nice to see everything stop. All the strange looks he received, the stares from the third and fourth year's; the muttered conversations as he went past, everything. Now, when he walked between lessons, he wasn't concerned that something might happen to him. Instead, he was only interrupted by people say nice things to him. Even though it hadn't been as bad recently as it had been before their fourth year, it still used to bother him so much. To be compared with that monster - and the insult to his mother! Not to mention the pain it caused his father. That rumour was perhaps the most damaging thing his family had ever had the misfortune of receiving. But at last, it finally seemed to have almost disappeared.

The Slytherin table even gave him a fair round of applause the next morning at breakfast. He'd flushed, and sat down bashfully, brushing people off with a grin and reminding them that there was an entire team and hey look! There was Albus Potter - why didn't they go and congratulate him too? He liked that the attention he was receiving was positive - but not enduring this much. Especially all at once.

A first year even sat next to him one morning, pawing at his elbow and asking him shy, mumbled questions. The boy had been cute, no doubt, and probably a muggle-born, considering how he stared at everything with such large, wide eyes. Scorpius had answered them all with patience, but that patience was wearing thin. It made him feel odd and reminded him that now more than ever he was being watched at all times, like an animal in a cage.

It wasn't for a few days that he saw either Daniel or Isla, however. Isla had smiled timidly at him as their paths crossed one lunchtime, just outside the Great Hall.

"Scorpius, I, uh-..." she called to him as he went to enter the hall. He turned to face her and grinned.

"Hi, Isla! How're you doing?"

A broad smile grew on her face and she tucked her hair behind her ear, before her hands dropped to her lap, where she fiddled with them compulsively. "I'm fine, but all thanks to you. I might've been really hurt - maybe even died if you hadn't saved me. So, uh, I mean thank you."

"No! No, don't worry about it, honestly." He shuffled his feet awkwardly; he was vaguely aware of the slight crowd gathering. "Anyone would've done it." He shrugged. "Of course Quidditch matters but it's not worth anyone's life."

She chuckled softly. "Yeah, I mean, I guess. But, uh - thank you. You went to all that length to make me feel safe and you even helped Dan when he'd been— well, I won't ever be able to thank you enough." She left quickly, face beaming magenta, her friends with her, and the crowd disappeared slowly, mingling back into various social groups. But not before he caught sight of ruby red hair.

As always, it was gone before he could say anything.

—-

"Scorpius, please stop mooning."

Joshua snapped his fingers in front of Scorpius' face one night in the common room.

"Whu-?"

"For the sake of Dumbledore's saggy left—

"Ew"

"We've told you a million times. Just ask her, make a move, or come back down to earth. It's been ages since the game, your rock-star reputation will wear off!"

Scorpius rolled his eyes at Joshua. If he had been through all the sufferings of a typical, not-suave teenager, he'd understand. "Alright. Fine! Fine. And what the hell is a 'rock-star'? Don't tell me muggles actually _do_ have a fascination with rocks."

"Oi! Only the weird ones. But you missed the point." He rolled as Albus snorted. Scorpius restrained the violent urge to snap back at Albus that he wasn't very much better at all.

"You _are_ worse than Moaning Myrtle, in fairness." Max intoned.

"How the Hippogriff do you even know who Moaning Myrtle is?"

Max waggled his eyebrows suggestively. "I may have been taken there a few times."

"Was it Evie Lee?"

"Nope."

"Amelie Bennett?"

"Uh, nope."

"Then… Millie Longbottom?"

"Oh, not there, no."

Scorpius heard Albus' face hit his hand with a hard smack.

"Well, who do you mean then?"

Max giggled in that weird, dark way he did when it only meant terrible things. "Dominique."

"Oh - mate! No!" Albus winced.

Max just carried on with his dark giggle, unrepentant in the face of Albus' splutters and wincing face.

"Oh I'm sorry - are we hurting the poor virgin's ears?" Joshua simpered.

Alfie cleared his throat. "Were you planning on failing your N.E. ?"

Albus abandoned his attempts to batter Max with his Herbology book, raving wilding about how much of a man-whore he was as he went. He growled lowly in a way that said this wasn't over, as he settled back down into the cosy armchair by the fire.

"We'd all have failed long ago without you, Alfie."

Max clapped the thin boy on his back, and went back to his Care of Magical Creatures book. Sinking lower into the sofa, Scorpius held the moderately engaging book on early goblin culture higher over his face to escape being pulled into any more fights.

They were currently most of the way into an all-nighter.

Sadly, October didn't only bring the colder weather; it also brought an unreasonable increase in the workload. Flitwick had declared their wandwork ineffective, and so had set a 12" essay on wand technique, the old git. Slughorn was giving them ever more complicated potions to brew that required hours of pouring over recipes and method techniques; clearly someone pissed in Professor Henrich's cereals the day when he set two essays - one on the laws of transfiguration and their development over history, and the transfiguration of Aviary creatures as opposed to reptilian creatures. And that didn't even begin to cover Professor Binn's never-ending list of reading, plus Charms and...

Frankly, it was upsetting.

"Next time you see Hagrid, Albus, tell him he's a pillock from me." Max whined, not thirty minutes of (semi-)silence later.

"Noted."

It seemed as though no matter what kind of preparation they did before term started - because of course Scorpius had prepared the best that he could - it was never enough. There was always a book he'd miss, or a potion he'd forgotten the exact method of, or a spell he'd completely forgotten. Then there was homework, and library-only books, and all of the extra things that professors only decided to set when it popped into their wonderful, sadistic minds that morning.

They seemed to disappear behind the mountains of books and rolls of parchment as the night went on, and it wasn't until the house-elves came in that they next stirred from their homework-induced comas.

"Master Albus?"

"Winky!" Albus started, voice thick with either sleep or fatigue.

"Why is you still awake? Winky was always told that students must go to bed early in the night!"

"We should, Winky. But the teachers gave us rather a lot of homework this time." Alfie explained - his voice, unlike Albus' wasn't thick from sleep. But his eyes were slightly blurry in the firelight, Scorpius noted with a slight degree of satisfaction. At least even Alfie, the paragon amongst their very flawed friends, was fallible in the face of this all-nighter.

Winky seemed to accept Alfie's answer with a sort of feeble trust, and nodded, her bat-like ears fluttering with the movement. "I see, Master Alfie."

Alfie smiled, and engaged Winky in a conversation about their work in the kitchens. He always was kind to those around him; and despite the calm, kind face he presented to the world, Scorpius had had an inkling for some time now that all was not well just under the surface. The trouble was that Alfie never gave anything away, and never wanted to talk about it, either.

—-

Their attempts to stay up all night had been successful, but it was only a few days later when the horrendous fatigue finally began waring off.

Scorpius yawned so widely and intensely it surprised Grace Hill next to him.

"Merlin, Scorpius!" She jumped away from him, already large eyes widening. "What the hell happened to you?!"

"N.E. , Grace. N.E. happened." Scorpius met the wide eyes with a gaze that portrayed how positively dead on the inside he looked - and felt.

She thawed out of her shock and fell back into step alongside Scorpius as they portrayed the corridors on their rounds together. She laughed. "I can appreciate that. Professor Vector's really stepping it up in Ancient Runes."

"Ah?"

"Yeah." She groaned with irritation. "He makes me sit with that Joshua, too. He never stops hitting on me!"

Scorpius tried desperately to not snort in laughter. "Yeah." He did consider adding something, but decided to drop it. "Yeah..."

"I'd much rather sit with Rose, anyway. I mean, who wouldn't?" They turned the corner into the Transfiguration corridor.

"Oh, really?"

"Oh-" She eyed him guiltily. "I forgot that you two don't really like each other."

Scorpius frowned. It was an open secret that she didn't like him - but he thought everyone knew that she was crazy about him!

"Um - we don't?"

She frowned in confusion, as though this was new information to her. "She said in Ancient Runes one day that she swore that your sole purpose in life was to embarrass her."

"'Suppose so."

"And besides, aren't you and Mia Clarke a thing? And Rose and Mia don't exactly get on…"

He reached out a hand to Grace's arm to stop her. "Mia Clarke?" He slowly turned a finger to point at his chest, eyebrows pulling together in disbelief. "And me?"

Grace nodded. "She's pretty. You're hot. Everyone jut assumed."

Scorpius frowned even deeper. "Oh. Well, no. We're not."

Grace made a vague sound of interest. She was a gentle girl, with wide eyes and long, ginger plaits. But she couldn't half gossip, and she was just very slightly ankle deep in everyone's business. "Not your type?"

"No."

"She does look quite a lot like your weird twin."

Scorpius tried to restrain a flush. "I suppose." He felt half-flattered by the comment, but it didn't quite sit right with him. And he'd given this way, _way_ too much thought. "W-Where did this even come from?"

"Somone said something about you and her in Greenhouse Five."

"And by someone, you mean...?"

She looked away from him pointedly. "Millie Longbottom."

"Oh, Merlin." Scorpius dropped his hands into his face. "I thought he said he'd forget that." He mumbled imperceptibly, but his heart seemed to flip-flop in and out of his mouth. Of course it was going to get around, and of course, he'd never heard about it, and of course, Mia never would've denied it if she discovered the rumour.

 _Oh, Merlin_.

"So," Grace started walking again as soon as Scorpius recovered from his momentary breakdown, "this means you also don't hate Rose?"

"I've got absolutely no idea where you got that from in the first place, anyway."

Grace shrugged, made another vague sound of interest, and they went back to silence as they made their rounds.

As they reached the fourth floor, Grace decided that the silence had got stale, and so began to regale Scorpius with seemingly all the Hufflepuff's business.

"You know, everyone fancies our Louis."

"'Our'?"

Grace hummed, the now lit end of her wand throwing a waving pool of light before her. "He's the best Hufflepuff we've got. Both his sisters were Gryffindors, and they weren't exactly the kindest girls Hogwarts has ever seen."

"Oh?" Scorpius raised an eyebrow interestedly.

The Hufflepuffs hadn't been angry about losing the game at all - actually, they'd all be incredibly sporting about it. He supposed there really was a reason why they were the kind ones after all. Apparently, Daniel Wood had been disciplined by Professor Sprout and he'd had the captaincy taken from him and given to Leo Black instead. It only made sense why he'd been keeping such a low profile since the game, and Scorpius couldn't help but be a little bit happy about it- but in a guilty-pleasure type way. Leo Black had even come up to him the Monday after the game to shake his hand, and thank him for what he did for Isla and Daniel. He'd said that the Hufflepuffs would be cheering for the Slytherins in their next game - which was a big deal, since that never, _ever_ usually happened. House segregation wasn't all that strict these days, but it could be absolutely brutal when it came to Quidditch - especially the final.

Grace's face spread into a grin, the sprinkle of freckles over her nose stretching out as she did so. "You didn't hear? Dominique got off with three seventh years _in a row_ at their graduation party. And Victoire - well, I heard that she was close to other boys besides Teddy. And both of them could be ruthless when it came to getting the boys they wanted."

Scorpius raised his eyebrows. He couldn't help but find it slightly unbelievable - these were the cousins that Rose _liked_ , after all. "Well no, I didn't hear about any of this." He smiled, despite himself. "I wasn't exactly Mr Popular - until about three days and fifty minutes ago, at least." He added the last more for himself than for Grace, looking up at the painted ceilings. Hogwarts could be so beautiful in the strangest of places.

"Oh." Grace made an awkward sound that was half-way between clearing her throat and internally combusting. "I'm… I'm really sorry about all that." Her voice wasn't much above a whisper. "I'm sorry that I never helped. Or stopped anyone else."

Scorpius looked at her, mouth half open in shock. Grace had never stuck up for him or Albus - sure. But no one had. Grace was a little colder to him back then, of course. But in some strange way, he kind of understood. When there's a kid that no one likes, that just talking to will get you outcast, of course you look out for yourself. Kids can be cruel. "No, it's fine." He frowned. "I never held anything against you - why would I?"

"Because you don't treat innocent people the way that we all treated you. You stay loyal to the people who have never been mean to you."

Scorpius chuckled, not because he found it funny, but because it was something to fill the growing void of silence broken only by their footsteps down the main staircase. They'd almost finished their rounds by now - as usual, nothing had really happened, but Scorpius now knew much more gossip. "I don't blame you. I don't blame most people, really. Besides, it's all in the past."

They came to stand, facing each other at the foot of the staircase. Grace fiddled with the end of her strawberry-blonde plait. Scorpius saw how awkward she was, and held out a hand. "Let's shake on it - we'll just forget anything that ever happened."

Truthfully, he was too tired to fight, or be angry anymore. He was just too tired for it all. Grace took his hand, and they shook on the past.

"You should've been a Hufflepuff."

Scorpius laughed, good naturally but felt a little twinge of regret deep down. He knew he was a Slytherin through and through, but there was just that hint of wonder that bothered him now and then. "No, I don't think so. I'll be nice to your face, but I'm secretly desperate to beat you in every test."

He would've liked to be in a different house, sometimes. He often wondered in his earlier years what life might've been like if he weren't the very picture of his father, in the same house as his House had been in for generations. It would've been nice to see life from the other side once in a while.

But the gnomes were always fewer on the other side of the fence, after all.

Grace smiled, and turning, he held up a hand as they went their separate ways. "I'll see you next week."

Upon returning to his dormitory, he found all but Albus asleep - and at that, Albus was almost passed out over his potions book.

"I'll just show you how to do it in the morning." Scorpius whispered at the tired, bespectacled boy. Contrary to his father, Albus only ever needed his glasses for reading - and only rarely at that. But it was weird looking to the face that had essentially occupied their family, almost unchanged, for three generations now. If Albus had a kid who looked the exact same as him, then Scorpius was just going to call inbreeding and go live in some weird forest in Albania.

Okay, so maybe not _Albania_.

Scorpius collapsed on his bed and quickly fell into the first sleep he'd had in a while that didn't involved Rose in some way, shape or form.

—-

By transfiguration the next day, it seemed as though his plan had worked. Although he did feel a little bad for using Grace so unwittingly, he excused it as using her _talents_ \- and boy did she have a knack for spreading gossip.

"So I hear that you and Mia Clarke _aren't_ going out." Rose declared after thirty minutes of near silence. Scorpius had been rehearsing suave or at least remotely cool lines to say in his head, but they all got jammed in his throat, so he merely settled for an intense feeling of inferiority and watching the parrot in front of him getting increasingly irritated as he tried in vain to turn him yellow. He'd succeeded with a unique, sunset orange but nothing closer yet. He was so accustomed to this anyway, after about six years of silence and feeling awkward that it was essentially part of his personality now.

Scorpius shrugged. "Didn't realise anyone thought we were."

Rose gave him a looked that clearly conveyed that she thought he was the biggest idiot in the classroom. In fairness, he did feel like one when she looked at him sometimes. "So you just kiss all the girls you _aren't_ going out with?"

"Only the ones as pretty as you, Rose."

Oh.

Oh, Merlin's beard.

Oh sweet Dumbledore.

No!

Why did his mouth have to get carried away like that sometimes? Why did he say the stupid things that only made him feel like a complete idiot and evidently made him sound like one. He braced himself for the hit—

But it didn't come.

He looked up at her through his eyelashes. Her mouth was slightly open, but she was smiling at the very tips; that way that a cat's always smiling at the corners - whether genuine or accidental, he had no idea.

The silence enveloped them again - and this time, Scorpius was just bracing himself for the delay-action bollocking he was certain to get. No one smooth talked Rose Granger-Weasley. Mostly because she could hand your arse back to you, but also partially because she always seemed to take it as either friendly banter or utterly reprehensible - the latter only reserved for if your name was Scorpius Malfoy.

When she drew breath, he sucked in a sharp breath and steeled himself. "How was your weekend?"

Scorpius turned his parrot bright blue. "Sorry?"

There was that slight smile again. And she was smiling at… him? Well, he didn't really care if it was at the person behind him; she set his heart racing madly, and he loved that feeling. Especially when she wasn't turning him down.

"The weekend. How was yours?"

"Quidditch." He blurted out all of a sudden. "Uh— I mean, Al and I had Quidditch practice." He looked away from her, blinking rapidly, and prodded the angrily squeaking parrot as he returned it to its normal colours.

"You just had the match, though."

"I know. Naoki is pretty intense sometimes.

Rose hummed. "Wasn't it raining, too?" Rose wrinkled up her nose. "I hate flying in the rain - it makes my hair even curlier than usual."

Scorpius failed to see how that was a bad thing. "Right." He inhaled deeply, steadying himself. He realised that he was always on the cusp of acting like a rational wizard or a jabbering twat, but he could never really seem to help himself from becoming the latter around her. "What did you do this weekend?"

She hummed to herself, tapping her soothed parrot once, until it went a brilliant yellow, deftly as ever. Scorpius raised his eyebrows - it was impressive, even if he was slightly jealous. "I hung out with the Gryffindors in the common room on most of Saturday, since it was raining, and then I went to see Hagrid with Al and Hugo and Lily and James on Sunday." She explained, as though having that much social interaction all weekend was a normal thing. "Oh, Roxanne and Fred, too."

He chuckled to himself, and she tilted her head with freshly narrowed eyes. "What?"

"It must be tough to remember that many cousins all at once."

She pursed her lips, and it was only by the slight crinkles a the sides of her eyes that he could tell he wasn't going to get yelled at. "I forget Lucy and Molly the most. But, well…"

Scorpius snorted, and he saw Rose bite her lip to keep from laughing.

"You know," Rose said, after a moment of silence passed again, "you're not quite turning your wand enough. Like this— see?"

She demonstrated, and he watched as she turned her wrist with just a slight flourish more than he had.

He hummed in understanding and mirror the movement; finally, his squeaking parrot was yellow.

"Thank you!" He beamed to Rose, and she, for the first time, turned to look at him fully. His heart seemed to sink through his stomach and then climb all the way back up again as she examined his face.

His heart stayed fluttering in his throat for the rest of that lesson. And all through History of Magic. The smile on his face didn't abate all day, and as he was walking back to the Great Hall for dinner that evening, there was a gait in his step that hadn't been there for quite some years.

"Oh fuck off, Malfoy. You're not the shit just because you saved one girl." Scorpius didn't even recognise the voice of the boy that called at him from across the fifth-floor corridor. Scorpius paused, the smile finally fading. One hand on his rucksack strap, he turned to face the voice. His other hand thumbed his wand in his trouser pocket.

"Okay?" He mumbled, turning to face a fifth year he didn't recognise.

"You're not the king of this school. You just watch, we'll remind you of your place when it's time." The voice was menacing, full of a hatred he hadn't heard since the game. He was a Ravenclaw, with a mixture of Hufflepuffs and Ravenclaws standing at his side. The anger on his face… Scorpius gulped. He didn't count himself a coward, but he knew when to leave; when to run to take care of himself. That was now.

"Alright. Well, I guess I'll see you then." Scorpius hurried off around the corner trying not to let the hammering of his heart affect him. He heard angry shouts and a scuffle, before hurried steps followed behind him. Furious, like a minotaur on a blood-fuelled rampage their footsteps fell like heavy cannon-balls in the corridor, and Scorpius felt his heart beating almost out of his chest, ducking behind a tapestry he knew to lead to a staircase. He saw the shadow of feet dash past, and then a group after that. Angry roars and frustrated cries accompanied them. Scorpius clamped a hand over his mouth to quiet his breathing. He couldn't seem to stop the heavy gasps he had to draw. Over and over again he panted and panted, doubled over and his head dropping down to the ground in a bid to take deeper breaths. This hadn't happened for years now. He hadn't been chased since third year. It wasn't the thrill of the chase that made him panic; it was the fear of the beating. He leaned against the wall, sliding down to the ground. His body felt exhausted; he couldn't bring himself to move.

It was easy, at times like this, to consider where it all went wrong. Was it when he was deemed the child of the Dark Lord, or when his mother's Blood Curse was activated? When he didn't stand up to the first, second, third person who beat him, or when he didn't care about any of it at all because he fell in love with Rose?

His head fell back against the chilly stone. He was aware that he was sweaty beyond what the October weather called for.

"Merlin's Beard." He sighed. He had never managed to understand why people hated him so much to this day. Couldn't they see that he wasn't his father? Couldn't they see that he wasn't the son of the Dark Lord, wasn't the source of all their problems? He didn't understand it. He didn't understand why this had happened, and what else he could do at this point to fix it all. He looked at his watch. It'd been twenty minutes since he'd left his last class. He didn't know whether he could chance going to the Great Hall or not - he didn't want to bump into those boys again. His heart almost beat out of his heart again as he approached the tapestry. Gathering one edge in his hand, he began to push it aside, poking his wand out into the corridor. It was already dark; the torches were lit.

" _Homenum Revelio_ "

Nothing. Just the hum of students further down in the castle. He could hear his heartbeat in the silence. He took a cautious step out. Then another. Even magic couldn't comfort him like setting eyes on a thankfully empty corridor could.

There was no one there. He sighed. He was glad he was wearing a jumper because his shirt was clinging to his back underneath it. He felt cold in the winter air, his skin sticky and itchy. Pointing his wand up his shirt he mumbled, ' _Scorgify_ ' and he felt most of the sweat evaporate, and hopefully it didn't smell so bad. The smile was well and truly gone and his walk was even more cautious than usual, but his heart, finally, quietened down. He could breathe again - for now.

—

 _Dear Scorpius,_

 _As always, I am keeping well, getting to work just fine, and the house is still standing. I did take the liberty of adjusting the paint colour of a couple of walls, however. How do emerald and silver suit you?_

 _I'm glad to hear that you're so happy, and congratulations on the game! You really are your mother's son. I'm so thrilled that people are treating you better at Hogwarts. It's only what you deserve, you're a nice boy, turning into a fine young man. I'm happy that you've managed to overcome the stigma of our name, I'm just sorry that I can't do more to help you from the outside. This is what I meant by 'enjoy your year' - just continue on this track and don't deviate._

 _Congratulations again, son. I'm proud of you._

 _Love, your father._

It was the single nicest letter his father had ever sent him. He couldn't even process how happy it'd made him, reading it the first time. He felt like a little child again, meeting Theia for the first time, or when he and Albus became friends on that fateful train ride. It was pure Patronus fuel, no doubt about that. He grinned to himself all evening long.

"You know, Al and Scor," Joshua began as he clambered into his bed, "girls have started asking me about who you're going to the Ball with more than me." He whined.

Scorpius snorted. "Welcome to our world."

"I'm sorry," Alfie interrupted, "but that is purely my territory."

"Touché."

"Anyway - are you still guns blazing with The Rose Plan?"

"Of course."

"I wonder if Albus has anything to weigh in with..." Max wondered aloud. He had already secured Mia Clarke as his date - with his lack of social airs and graces - of course he had. Joshua claimed he was currently 'working on this one girl,' and Alfie was as quiet as always about this kind of thing. Albus was working out how not to get paralysed as he asked Lydia Griffiths - and he'd mocked Scorpius for his attempt!

No, that was still fair game, he remembered, cringing, as he accidentally forced himself to relive it.

Truthfully, however, he was getting a little bit desperate. He hadn't had time to think about it at all this week - he been almost consistently paired with other people, and aside from their Transfiguration lesson together on Monday, they hadn't had a chance to talk in Charms or Potions yet. It made him want to scream in anger from all the pent-up frustration.

Finally, the very next evening, he managed to talk to her in the library.

She'd been sitting alone, in the evening as the candles lit up the rows of books and the moon rose high in the sky.

It wasn't like last time where she was surrounded by friends, this time she was alone - and the long desk she sat at was otherwise unoccupied.

She acknowledged him with a small sort of smile, and aside from his stomach dropping out from underneath him, Scorpius managed a reasonably easy smile back. It was the library, it was his place. He knew what he was doing here.

They didn't say a word to each other.

He took out his book and got cracking on Slughorn's latest essay. 'The Advantages and Disadvantages of applying Moonstone to the mixture of Veritaserum.' Said potion was coming up as their first exam soon, and Scorpius felt slightly overwhelmed with it all - what with that, their essays, his History of Magic presentation, a the Defense charms to learn and not to mention the Herbology to memorise and the Transfiguration work he had to even figure out how to do. Oh, and more on top of that. It was all he could think about, these days. He could feel the stress building in his throat as he began to write his essay.

"Hey, Malfoy." Rose's voice was soft, and slightly sweeter than usual.

Scorpius looked up as though he had been stung by a passing scarab. He looked over at her, blinking confusedly. She never usually initiated conversation with him unless something was very, very wrong.

She smiled and shifted awkwardly in her seat, looking away. "I just.. wanted to say congratulations. You flew excellently, and what you did for Isla... if you hadn't caught her she would've been thrown to the grown and she would've been completely broken. And Daniel, and what you said..." she drew her eyes away from him, and couldn't bring herself to finish that sentence.

Scorpius smiled brightly despite her drawn face. "That is certainly high praise coming from you. Thanks."

She laughed dryly. "It's not just me, trust me."

"Still. It matters that _you'd_ say that to me, regardless. So, thank you."

She smiled at him and flicked her eyes back down to her book - Runes, but the look of it. And by her stationary pupils, he could tell she wasn't reading anything.

He eventually slipped his eyes from examining her face to his book too.

They sat in their silence again, not a word passing between the two. And Scorpius wasn't sure about her, but he had to work twice as hard for anything to go into his head.

"Hey- Rose?"

"Yes?" She responded, quickly.

"When transfiguring a poultry animal into a mammal - is the final wrist flick up or down? It says down in the book and that's what I always do, but it never quite seems to work..."

Rose placed her book down on the surface of the table - an old copy of Beadle the Bard, it seemed - and to his surprise, she pulled out her own wand to show him.

"It's quite fast, so I'm slowing down what I usually do. But it's like this-" she demonstrated it slowly, "-you see?" Scorpius nodded his head slowly, trying to commit it to memory.

"Could you do it one more time, please?"

She sighed, heavily, but nodded. "Like this."

"Ah- I see!" He clicked his tongue. "Thank you."

"You're welcome." She replied like a well-oiled machine, and immediately picked up her book again, holding it over her face.

Scorpius frowned. She was certainly a contradictory one. He was used to reading people's faces, sometimes it was the only way he could communicate with his father - but he was especially good at ready the girl who he had been watching for the last six years. He understood that of course his judgement wasn't going to be the most accurate when it came to her, but she was acting far stranger and inconsistently than he could expect to see. It puzzled him.

Her book was upsidedown.

"Rose, are you-"

"I'm reading."

"Uhh..." Scorpius looked at the book blocking her face. "No, you aren't."

"Well," She sighed, lowering her book. "I was trying to." She slammed the book shut on her side of the desk. "What is it?"

"I just wanted to talk to you."

"Fine. About what?"

"Just..." he shrugged. "I don't know. I just wanted to talk."

She tilted her head back, raising an eyebrow in suspicion. "Are you going to shout something at me again?"

He couldn't tell if she was teasing or completely mocking him. "Uh, well..."

"It's fine." She waved a hand. "You are right though. We don't really know each other. And considering you're my cousin's best friend..."

"My favourite colour's blue." He blurted out, shocking himself as much as anyone else.

"Okay... mine's red."

"My birthday's November 14th."

"Oh, soon. Mine's April 12th."

He smiled, more to himself than at her. These were things he already knew about her, but would never admit to knowing. He didn't want to seem like some crazy stalker, after all.

"Once, when Albus and I were younger, we were playing together at our grandparent's house. It's this weird house, it sort of looks like it might fall over at any moment. We were playing exploding snap, and I'd just beaten him for the sixth time in a row. He got so angry at me that he used magic to shrink the house owl!" She laughed, holding a hand over her mouth, so they didn't get thrown out together by Madam Pince.

"He shrank the _owl?!_ I did not see that bit coming."

"Yes, and it took Gran and Pops almost an hour to change the poor bird back!"

"I think I might start making sure that his owl's Okay..."

Rose laughed at him - and an actual, happy smile, too! He looked into her eyes, mesmerised that for once, he was the one she was laughing with, and not at.

She pursed her lips and twisted them half upright. "Hey, you were in the library a few days before the Quidditch match, weren't you?"

Scorpius nodded. "Yep. Why?"

"It's just... I remember you kind of slammed your book down and seemed sad. I asked Albus, but he was about as helpful as always. Is there... is everything okay?"

He nodded slowly. "Of course... why would there be anything wrong."

"You tell me."

"You aren't madly in love with me, are you Rose?"

She rolled her eyes, but instead of her usual biting comment, she just laughed. And he laughed with her. It felt so strange, but he couldn't have been happier.

Yet the smile slowly faded from her face, and the glistening happiness of her eyes was replaced by something else. It took a few moments as the pair slid back into silence, but when she swallowed thickly, he knew that something had gone wrong.

"I- I Uh..." she stood suddenly, jamming her books back into her bag and eyes growing slightly red.

"What's wrong?" Scorpius stood to match her, frowning as she packed her things and hurriedly left. Weren't they finally just getting along?

"Rose-" he called after her, but she was gone. Scorpius couldn't tell us it was anger or disappointment that flooded through his veins, making him more impassioned than he had been for a long time. He was taking short, sharp breaths now and felt his fists clench and unclench rapidly. What was her problem? What had he done? She can't have gone far, he decided and stood to chase after her.

But she was only around the corner, standing stock still. Her eyes were glassy as though full of tears, red-rimmed and her nostrils quivering ever so slightly.

Her mouth hung open as though certain words she'd rather weren't heard were about to come tumbling out.

"Malfoy... I..."

* * *

 _Ahh, the romance you've all been waiting for! And I'm happy to say that next week, we will finally hear from Rose!_

 _Please review if you've got time, and follow for more. Thanks!_


	9. An Interruption

**Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter**

 _Wow! You guys really seemed to enjoy last chapter - that's so great! Thank you to AMBERJANUS, MLMarint (good luck with school!), Guest, LuciousNesha (congrats to your partner - that's goals right there! Your review was super perceptive, I'm so glad you're getting the kind of characterisation I'm putting out!), BellaStoria, Guest, momo, Guest and catwomannnnn1 (wow, high praise indeed! Thank you so much!) for all your reviews! I'm so, so happy that you're having fun reading my fic - please continue to let me know your opinions!_

 _Enjoy!_

* * *

Chapter 9: An Interruption

I, Rose Helena Granger-Weasley, promised that I would not let Scorpius Hyperion Malfoy ruin my world.

Yes, that's right. I know his name. I'll never use it to his face because Merlin only knows that'd make him too happy. But I do know it, should I ever need it.

I remember the day, six summers ago, when I went to go and find my favourite cousin, my best friend in the world, and he was sitting in a carriage, chatting away with the boy I'd just singled out to beat in every which way I could. The betrayal was potent. But it didn't matter - not at all! I had the pick of friends. My mother was climbing her way up to be the Minister of Magic, and my father was the best friend of The Boy Who Lived and saviour of the world. I didn't need that back-stabber, I could make like perfectly enjoyable without him.

And then the bullying began. I didn't do anything. Albus just wound me up so much! And that Malfoy—! I knew I had to beat him in everything. Every test, every House Cup, every social measure imaginable, every Quidditch game after he joined the team. I knew I had to fight to stay at the top in _everything_ I did. For the first two years I spent at Hogwarts, everything I did was to establish and maintain my place at the top. Every time he whopped my arse in potions, he did it with that _smile_. Robotic, over-compensating and oh-so-irritating. Such a pretence of kindness that I just knew had to be hiding smugness. He'd offer me advice, or tell me to do x, y and z and insult my intelligence so obviously right to my face.

And so that's what he became to me. The one to beat. The one to eviscerate. And at all costs, the one to keep away from me. Because if I didn't fight tooth and nail for all I had by the time third year began, I would've just been Rose. Plain old boring Rose.

So I let the bullying happen. Because I couldn't watch Albus enable my destruction at the hands of his friend. Besides, it was the Malfoy's karmic payback for all their crimes.

The years rolled by and I stayed in a deadlocked combat with Malfoy. Exam after exam we battled, and finally, after years of training, I came out on top for our OWLs. I'll never forget the pride on mum's face or the smug look on dad's. I was their pride and joy that day, and that's all I needed.

So sixth year began, and I fully intended to continue my winning streak. This is where the problems began.

"Before I let you all go off to bed, I have a few words to say. As with every year, I must start with some notices. Firstly, that students must obey Mr Filch's orders: stay away from the Forbidden Forest, and the majority of Weasley's Wizard Wheezes' products are banned. Please consult the board outside Mr Filch's office on the ground floor of the east wing for the full list."

Isabelle twirled a lock of her shiny black hair around her finger, and Jasmine examined the nails on her left hand. I met eyes with Lola and we shared a knowing grin. Very few people ever listened to McGonagall's speech, mostly because it was the same few bulletins followed by a quick lecture about friendship or kindness every year. Headmaster McGonagall may have been an excellent professor and transfigateur, but captivating speech giver she was not.

"Anyone who wishes to apply to their House's Quidditch team may give their name to their head of House, although only Gryffindor and Ravenclaw have vacancies this year. The Quidditch Cup will be running as usual this year and, as with each time we hold the Tournament, all the teachers give our best luck to each house."

Professor Heinrich raised an eyebrow and gave a dubious look to Headmaster McGonagall. He was always so protective of our team that he even visited us during training sometimes, just to check how we were doing. It felt like we'd personally betrayed him every time we lost - which, thankfully, wasn't as often as it used to be.

"Furthermore, House points will be awarded and taken away all year long - and the winner of the most points at the end of the year will win the House Cup. A reminder that the cup is currently in Ravenclaw's hands."

McGonagall paused, which was the cue for Isabelle to stop playing with her hair and Jasmine to stop pointing out the slight chip in the nail of her left ring finger to Paige. We all looked up, giving our rapt attention to the Headmaster.

"For many of us, there is a memory instilled in our minds of a time of complete house-unity. A day when one's House, school, and country didn't matter. House stripped away, new friendships were forged, and the world at Hogwarts briefly became a different place. " I frowned. That was far shorter than usual. "On that note, I have some news regarding a new event." Well, that made more sense. "Twenty-eight years ago, we held the Triwizard Tournament at this school," Jasmine whispered furiously into Paige's ear and I had to fight to drown it out. "Whilst we are not at all going to be re-commencing the games, there was one aspect of the tournament that still resonates very dearly in all our hearts here at the staff end of Hogwarts.

"The Yule Ball." Isabelle let out a tiny, high-pitched squee of excitement and Jasmine had to clamp a hand over her mouth to stop from laughing. I would've been tempted to join her if my heart wasn't sinking so rapidly through my stomach. "It was a night of happiness before a storm of sorrow. A chance for us all to forget about Houses, class rankings, tests and any other pressures. And so we have decided to host a similar event this year; the Phoenix Ball. The ball will be held on the last weekend of the winter term, and we will pass out more details through your prefects soon. Now, off to bed with you all."

My heart plummeted. I was not made for this kind of thing. This wasn't something I could come out on top of through pure hard work. I knew there were men around me who liked me, I'd heard Al joke that even that Malfoy liked me, but it wasn't something I'd ever seriously considered. Not since Jake Andrews... I swallowed hard and avoided looking at the girls.

This ball was all the girls in my dorm could talk about, living up to every stereotype mum whined about. Paige, bouncing with energy as always was already dreaming of her fantasy evening - mostly involving punch, spiked punch, and persuading Professor Flitwick into a dance. Jasmine was feeding her fantasy quietly and scheming exactly how she could pull her plan to secure a date off, and Isabelle was probably already planning her dream dress, then her backup, then the backup to that... Lola was the only one who looked as uncomfortable as I felt.

"What if no one asks me?"

I frowned, as though the answer was so glaringly obvious everyone should see it. "Ask them yourself."

She rolled her eyes. "As if anyone would say yes."

It's true. Lola was not conventionally attractive. Short, with a blonde bob and almost eerily light blue eyes, but uneven features that no one could deny, and she never wore makeup because she 'didn't see the point' - much to Isabelle's chagrin. But it's not like I was going to say any of that aloud. "Well if they say no, then they're missing out on an evening with one of the best people I've met."

Niece of a death eater though she may be, she was still as sweet as the first days of spring. And it was better than being the son of a family full of criminals.

Lola Travers, Jasmine Thomas-Taylor, Paige Finnegan and Isabelle Moore were my roommates, and had for the most part been my friends since the very day we began at Hogwarts. Isabelle and Paige my friends from that very first train ride I spent in a carriage full of people asking me question after question and hanging on my every word... It was just a shame about the topic.

"Who would you ask, Lola?" Isabelle asked, tossing her mane of glossy black hair behind her back and smiling a goofy, dreamy smile. I always used to be so jealous of her hair when we first met - even in the mornings, it doesn't look nearly as dishevelled as mine. So maybe I am still jealous of it.

Lola flushed. "I mean, we'd all ask Louis Weasley if we could, wouldn't we?"

I scrunched up my nose. "I'll pass, thanks." I held up my hands.

"Even if he's that fit?" Paige prodded.

"Even if he's that fit." I sighed, rolling my eyes. But I couldn't help laughing with them.

"I hope that Aneil asks me..." Isabelle sighed, falling back on her bed.

"Why? So you can reject him?" Paige asked with a snort.

"Of course! And then, I can go with someone really hot and make him pay for makin' fun of my accent." She smiled devilishly. Her mother had come over from American and quite literally bumped into her dad in Leeds, so Isabelle would have us all believe, and her mother's Texan accent slowly crept into her voice over the years. She must've told us the same story of how Aneil has said it sounded - what was the word... 'Hill-Baily?' - at least seven times, through tears.

"That's almost Jas-levels of scheming," Paige replied with wide, stunned eyes. Jasmine raised a slender eyebrow and chose to respond with only a smirk. That smirk did not bode well for the boys of Hogwarts.

Lola laughed. "Well, well. Hide your boys. Jasmine's on the lookout for a hot guy again."

It put my mind at rest, watching them discuss their dream dates. Almost enough to forget how that Malfoy stared at me all the way through McGonagall's announcement. He really must be stupid if he thought I don't notice.

And so sixth hear began. I felt like a graceful swan, or more likely a duck; perfectly calm above water but struggling madly to stay afloat where no one could see.

Isabelle was the first to receive an invitation to the Ball, then Jasmine, and Paige closely afterwards. Where Paige and Isabelle were the bright and shining sun, Jasmine was the cold and quiet moon. Truthfully, we didn't get along at all for years. She could be so icy and blunt to strangers that she rubbed me the wrong way, and my aloofness at that chided at her, too. But a shared cold in third year brought us together. As we lay in beds next to each other for three consecutive days, I realised that she was just blunt about what she said, and she understood that I had built up towering walls around myself but they were made of glass. We never looked back since.

My first invitation came on a rainy Thursday night. Jamie Rogers, a sweet but plain Ravenclaw asked to meet me outside the astronomy tower at six in the evening. He was nice, but I had to say no. Sometimes he'd be talking, and I was perfectly aware of the words he was saying but I just couldn't help thinking of how... boring he was. He could make the story of Uncle Harry being chased by a dragon dull as dry wood.

I was wandering back through the castle from that when the second invitation came.

My legs had taken me back a long way from the tower, down to the first floor where I'd heard the Slytherin Common Room entrance was - not that I would know such a thing, or care - when suddenly, I heard voices. Whispers. Men. They came closer.

"... being psycho and pretending that she _didn't_ contribute to that elephant stamp on your back?"

Oh. Albus. I rolled my eyes at own stupidity. I didn't need to hide from _Albus_. He was almost like a second brother to me. I was about to push the creaky wooden door open when another voice rang through the silent night air.

"Pretty much."

Ah. _Malfoy_. I almost jumped back into the cupboard. He was the last person I wanted to deal with. He was... many things. Too many things this year. A distraction that was absolutely not needed.

Silence fell and they came a bit closer. I found myself wondering in the absence of any distraction what they meant by 'elephant stamp' on Malfoy's back. A tattoo? Ohh... No-! Could it be— was he a part of some new Death Eater cult...? It wouldn't surprise me. He is the son of one, the grandson of another. It practically runs in his blood by now.

"So, library?" As soon as the words reached me I had to hold back a snigger. Albus - go to the library? He never went there!

"I've got no idea, really."

"Butterbeer from the kitchens?"

"Couldn't refuse you."

I rolled my eyes. Some prefect.

One set of footsteps faded away as another came towards me. Please be Albus, please be Albus-! I pleaded internally, and as the door opened a sliver, I didn't have time to see who it was before I pulled them inside and shut the door.

It was dark, but I heard their scream before the darkness enveloped us. As though my hand had been in a puddle of stinksnap I yanked it away.

"What the Hell, Malfoy?" In this cruel world, he, of all people, was the one person, of course, I had to be shut in a cleaner's cupboard with. Of all the cliches of all the genres, it was this rom-com excuse of a trope that I had to get stuck in a cupboard with such an arsehole.

I looked him up and down as he dithered. He'd got taller since last year. And he'd grown into his features so he didn't look about twelve anymore. His hair a bit was longer, too.

"I was uh... practising. For… the…" an unbearably long pause. "Toad choir." Evidently, he hadn't got any sharper this summer.  
"The toad choir? You're in that?" A vague flicker of hope that he might actually be somewhat interesting.

"No. But I want to be."

It wasn't a strong flicker, anyway. "Right."

"B-but, what do I owe the honour to?"

"Honour?" It was all I could do not to scoff in his face. "I was heading back from somewhere."

"Somewhere?"

My eyes widened in shock. He'd never so much of talked to me before unless it was to insult my intelligence or say something stupid. What on Earth was this? A personality transplant? I let out a sharp breath, folding my arms over my chest. "If you must know, I was on my way back from seeing Jamie Rodgers."

"Rodgers?" Something passed over his eyes that I didn't quite catch. I'd never noticed the colour of his eyes before. Grey...

Interesting.

"Yes. He was asking me to the Ball." It felt wonderful to be able to lord over him a victory that he surely wouldn't achieve. Even if he was social suicide to any other house but Slytherin, I'm sure even one of them wouldn't have had the balls to ask him yet - if ever. I smiled, and not caring one jot if the smugness showed.

"Rose!" His voice was strangely strangled. " _Wannagototheballwithme_?" He blurted out as though he threw up the words all at once.

For the first time since the end of last year, I felt as though the world was standing still for one, two heartbeats. I raised my eyebrows in disbelief. "Sorry?"

"WANT TO GO TO THE BALL WITH ME?" He accidentally shouted, and then drained of all colour within a second. My heart seemed to compensate for those two lost beats and pounded out an insecure crescendo on my heart. I didn't even know what to think. My ears were ringing, and yet it was like I was underwater.

"Uh, okay," I mumbled, my eyes wide as I backed out of the corridor slow enough to not startle him out of his daze. The last thing I wanted right now was for more comments from Malfoy. "I'm just going to-" I finally made it out of the corridor and into the fresh air, seeing Albus and two of his Slytherin friends traipsing with him with a crate of butterbeer between them, before I ran off. And I ran, and ran and ran, and made it to the portrait hole faster than I'd ever known I could.

"In a hurry, dear?"

I didn't say anything, I just nodded, huddled over and gasping for dear life. "Leon- idas." I panted, and the hole swung open. Clambering through, my breathing returned somewhat to normal as I surveyed the common room. The two biggest gossips I knew, Isabelle and Jasmine, had said they'd wait up for me to hear what went on, and I suspected Paige and Lola would be corralled into doing the same, too. Sure enough, there they were. Huddled in a corner between a group of second and fourth years, entertaining my cousins Freddie and Lily. It was always cold in that corner because of the way the drafts swirled around Gryffindor Tower, so it was only ever occupied by the people who couldn't find a seat anywhere else, or the fastest person to claim the seats in the impossibly hot summers - when the sunshine lit up the tower like a furnace.

"Rosie? You look like you took a quaffle to the head." Isabelle asked me as I perched on the arm of the sofa she and Paige were currently sprawled across.

I just blinked. Even I didn't know what had really happened.

"No... Nothing. It's nothing." It would be nothing, if it decided it was.

But I couldn't quite get the idea out of my mind.

It clung to me. _He_ clung to me. And before I knew it, I was like the hopeless lead in one of mum's stashed of muggle romance books. A woman falling for the man she least suspected. How cliched. Except, I was absolutely never going to fall _in love_ with him because he was the last living embodiment of the Malfoy family, and at any point in my life any sort of endearment twoards him beyond infatuation with his frustratingly good looks would be impossible.

I still felt like I was being burnt alive when I saw him kissing Mia Clarke. And that image, that picture of his lips on hers was all that I could think about for so long afterwards... That it was her... and not...

As much as I had _never_ expected an invitation from Malfoy, I had been expecting one from Daniel Wood. It wasn't hard to expect. He was practically drooling every time I caught him staring at me. I may've even considered it had I not felt so very strange about the fact that he was over a year younger than me. It just didn't sit quite right with me. Besides, I barely knew him, and the best kind of love came from friends. No good had ever come from falling in love at first sight. Well, except for auntie Ginny. Even then, she told me that she'd given up hope of ever getting Harry to fall in love with so fast as she'd fallen for him, so they became friends. Love grows out of friendship. It's just how it is. Anything else is lust, and can only lead to bad things, no matter how firmly you believe in it or chase it.

I also knew that night that I was not alone. Malfoy has remarkably reflective hair, it's not difficult to see him in the night. But I still let Daniel Wood offend Albus and Malfoy, even when I knew they were listening. For the first time, I had to restrain from wincing as he did it. It was like the guilt that had been missing for six years finally kicked in. Talk about timing.

Of course I also knew Albus would come and talk to me that night - because nobody knew how to work themselves into a tizzy quite like Albus Potter.

"Rosie?" Phoebe Allsop, the Gryffendor seeker tapped me on the shoulder that evening as I was engrossed in my potions book. "Albus is outside. Says he won't leave until you come out."

I rolled my eyes. "Thanks, Phoebe. I'll go now before he tries to guess the password again."

Once, when we fought really badly last year, he guessed all the passwords he could possibly imagine until finally, after three hours, guessed the right one. It's the closest a Slytherin has ever got to entering Gryffendor tower. When the portrait hole swung open and he was standing on the other side, no one even spoke. We'd had no choice but to make up after that debacle.

Albus was pacing the floor outside the portrait when I got out of the common room.

"Finally, dear. I thought he was going to wear a hole in the floor!" The Fat Lady commented.

"Yeah, he might do at this rate." It paid to be nice to the Fat Lady. She could remind you of the password or not rat you out to Filch.

"Rose."

"Al. What's up?"

He stopped pacing and fixed me with an icy glare. It's not like I hadn't seen this coming.

"I heard something about you."

"Oh, go on." I pulled him over to the small inlet next to the Gryffindor Tower corridor as I heard a pack of students approaching. "If it's something else from Malfoy or any of your other little friends you already know it's not true. Except for Alfie, actually. He's nice. And there really some potential there for-"

"Rosie!" He growled. He could be such a petulant child sometimes.

"What is it, Al?" I sighed, crossing my arms.

"I heard that you've been invited by a load of boys already."

I dropped my expression of feigned intrigue in shock. This was not what I'd been expecting. "I... I don't know what you want me to say."

"Well- I hear something about you with Jake Andrews, too."

He scowled, Not even meeting my eyes.

"Oh- come on! I- What exactly did you hear about that?" I winced, trying desperately not to let panic show on my face. I knew that James knew about what had happened, he saw it, but I made him swear that he wouldn't tell!

"Just that you were 'friendly'," he drew heavily air-quotes around that word.

I let out a heavy sigh. "Oh. I mean, I guess...?"

Albus deadpanned at me.

"It was just- one time!"

"What!?"

"Albus!" I clamped a hand over his mouth. "I just- I... it wasn't anything like _that_ , calm down. I'll tell you later."

"Fine. Christmas, yeah?" Albus' scowl faded.

"Yeah." I was already dreading it.

Last Christmas holiday, Al and I had made up for good. And so we started a (clearly very strong) tradition of sharing secrets every Christmas eve before the clock struck midnight. Last year he found out that I maybe sort of cheated in three divination tests, and I discovered the full story of why Albus really hated his dad for so long.

"Anyway, it's just... Someone said something, made it sound like you'd been getting around."

I couldn't help it. It was like I was trained by my mother for moments like this. "And that is any of your concern— how? It's not the 18th century anymore, Al, you aren't responsible for any reputation that may or may not get me."

He narrowed his eyes at me again. "I don't want people taking advantage of my cousin! It's not right!"

"But why's it your problem? What if I was Paige or Isabelle or Jasmine— if they had a 'reputation', what's it to you?"

"I just— it's because I know you. And because you're my closest cousin. They aren't."

The anger abated as I looked into his far too innocent, puppy-dog eyes. He was irritatingly good at that. "Okay..." it was was still problematic, to say the least. "I get it. I get why you get so up in arms. But Al, look, it's really no big deal. Dominique got around half her year!" He snorted. I couldn't help but laugh. "You see? It's really no problem. And any idiot who uses that as an insult - well, just look at your friends!"

"That's true. Max and Joshua really have a way with the women."

"No, Al. They just look good and talk to us." I gave him a wry smile. It wasn't hard to miss the enormous crush he has on Lydia, not when he spent most of Potions staring at her. "They just talk to us like we're normal people, not a target or some foreign species. Y'know, like you should with Lydia." I added, with a wry smile.

He narrowed his eyes at me. "Malfoy told you."

The mention of his name gave me a jolt and my mouth suddenly became very dry. Albus raised his eyebrows at me. "Is there something I should know? Are you two secretly madly in love?"

"Merlin, no! No one's that good of an actor."

Albus laughed. "That's true. I mean the hate you have for him is palpable."

I shifted. He thought I hated him? I didn't hate... almost anyone. "Well- it's not like I _hate_ him. He just gets on my nerves. A lot. And he's really smug - you know that smile he does when he beats me in a test?"

"Oh, yeah..." Albus hmmed.

"And anyway, he's not really on my radar at all." Besides, I only wanted to snog him a little bit these days. I felt my cheeks redden at the thought. It wasn't one I'd dared acknowledge had even passed my mind before. Oh Merlin, this really wasn't going well. Why now? Why during the middle of N.E. ? Why couldn't this hormone-fulled crisis have come either in fourth year or after final exams next year?!

"Oh? Really. _Okay_." I knew from his tone that he absolutely did not believe me. "So, anyone I should worry about?"

"'Worry'? Al- Dumbledore you can be dense! You should only ever 'worry' if I went out with a mountain troll, or someone who is clearly an absolute pillock." Oh, look, like Malfoy!

"No- wait! No, I just mean that I, as a male, know who all the awful men are."

"And I, as a female, am free to do whatever I please with whomsoever I please."

"Alrighty. As long as it's not Daniel Wood."

I raised a brow.

"He's an arsehole, let's face it."

"Yeah. I'll give you that. I promise no Daniel Wood."

He paused, crossing his arms. "Do you even know who you're going with?"

I shook my head. "To the Ball? Nope. No one in mind at all, to be honest." I wondered if perhaps I was overcompensating slightly.

If he was suspicious, then it was exemplary acting coming from the boy who, whilst trying to lie to his parents, had ended up holding his breath for so long and gone so red he collapsed.

But that evening, I was again forced to face the fact that stupid Malfoy was on my mind. I began noticing him around me all the time. I thought I was going crazy at first, he seemed to appear _everywhere_. In the library, I'd see him and even notice when his face looked drawn or when he'd take out parchment letters and smile non-robotically to himself.

The more I watched him, the more confusing he got. Malfoy, the potion-brewing competitive as hell Slytherin did not have feelings. He just had that plastered-on smile and snide comments here and there. It felt good to tease him and ignore his existence because he was just so damned irritating!

But the quidditch match was where things really went to shit. That morning spelt the beginning of the end for the tattered idol I'd abused in my head for six long years.

I'd just finished spreading the thick strawberry jam over my toast when I heard his voice over the silencing hall.

"...why don't you put her down now?"

I looked up and saw Daniel Wood grasping a small girl by her collar. He dropped her, and with a gasp, I saw her almost fall and crack her skull open on the Hufflepuff table.

"What in the name of sweet Merlin-?!" Paige uttered in a strangled whisper from next to me.

"Is that Scorpius?" Rhys Owens asked, almost to himself. If there was one person in my year who was bothered by Malfoy as much as me, it was him.

"What in the hell is happening?" Jasmine whispered breathlessly.

"Half your team shouldn't be allowed to play, anyway - filthy spawn of death eaters and criminals." Daniel Wood growled back and stormed to the end of the Hufflepuff table. I felt dread build inside me. I saw Jasmine and Paige meet eyes across the table but didn't turn to join their silent conversation. My nails dug into the palms of my hands. Something was coming. I could feel it, like the furious clouds could feel a storm coming or the sickly plants could feel their deaths at winter's clutching hands.

Albus pulled at the edges of Malfoy's robe, but he ignored it, his face contorting between a black scowl and passionate defiance.

"Don't judge us for things we never had control over! Judge us for who we are instead. We aren't just Slytherins, some of us are in Gryffindor, in Ravenclaw — in your own house! We aren't our fathers and our mothers. It's fine to not like us, but don't just presume we're terrible for something that happened over twenty years ago, and that we can't change even if we'd give our lives to!"

His words rang out over the Great Hall, and Malfoy suddenly faded to a shade paler than usual like he was coming out of a trance. He looked around, uncomfortable, and then sat as quickly as he stood. I couldn't take my eyes off him.

He was right.

He was right. To my shame, he was right. I felt the tension released like a snapped elastic band. He was right, and I couldn't take that away from him. I was part of the whole problem.

I hated him, because I told myself he must be awful. I tortured what I thought he was, because I'd made him the villain in my head. The Malfoy I was staring at now wasn't a smug, mechanical son of a death eater. I didn't want to make fun of this man. He was shy, smiling sheepishly as his friends praised him. He was flushing, not smirking. Beaming like a joyous child, not a slick git. And his eyes were happy, not void of anything resembling emotion.

He was human. He was real. He was not the monster I'd created in my head.

Like the floor had collapsed from under me, I realised how much of a terrible mistake I'd made. I'd never done something so awful for so long before. A tight ball of shame knotted itself in my stomach. I couldn't drag myself out of this problem with intelligence alone. My name couldn't fix this. I couldn't explain it away with a smile and flourish of confidence. I had to confront what I'd done, how I'd been at the root of all the pain I'd just heard in his voice.

I stared into his eyes. They shone almost silver in the brief flash of light amidst the gloomy clouds. He stared at me. I almost gasped as though a gigantic bolt of lightning jolted my heart.

Scorpius Hyperion Malfoy.

I'm sorry.

* * *

S _o, what do you think of Rose? And why do you think she was about to cry last chapter? All will be answered soon, but I'd love to know your thoughts until then!_

 _Please review if you've got time and follow for more. Thanks!_


	10. Friends

**_Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter._**

 _Hello again friends! Woo, we made it to the 10th Chapter! And we just passed an X-thousand hits milestone! I just want to say again that I'm super, super grateful to all of my wonderful readings and thank you for coming on this fic-journey with me! Anyway, enough of my gushing._

 _Thank you to **LuciousNesha** (wow, I'm so thrilled you liked her so much! Thank you!), **Guest** , **Catwomannnnnn1** (indeed you will get more Rose in the future!), **BellaStoria** , **Guest** (yeah, I prefer Scorpius too... clearly no bias here!) and **Guest** for reviewing. And good timing, Guest - I'm posting today! Anyway. I did just want to clarify, Rose is totally not in love with Scorpius. Like, at all. She's just finding it strange and mildly alarming that she's so attracted to someone who she thought was like the most annoying person ever._

 _Enjoy!_

* * *

 _Chapter 10: Friends_

"Malfoy… I…"

Scorpius took a silent step towards her, reaching out a tentative hand. "Rose? Tell me, what's wrong?" He murmured the words softly, but she shied away from his outstretched hand just as it ghosted her elbow.

There was a battle in her eyes. The same one he watched his father wage for months and months before he told Scorpius about his mother's illness. The same one that he watched his mother lose as she died, without another word. The candlelight flickered in Rose's watery eyes and, for a moment more, she hovered in indecisive agony.

And then, just as quickly as it began, it ended. Blinking fast, she righted herself; the colour dulled in her slightly reddened eyes. She swallowed, uncomfortable, but wouldn't dare meet his gaze.

"I... will see you in Transfiguration."

She turned and walked briskly down the uniformly straight rows of books, clutching all her belongings tightly to her chest. He watched her in the dim light; crimson hair swaying down her back with each step she took. He couldn't hear anything but a few sniffs and the sound of her footsteps padding on the old, worn carpet. He'd give anything to be watching as she walked towards him and not away. Just once.

He sighed heavily, and turned away from her departing figure, standing over the desk they'd been sitting at. Hands deep in his pockets, he closed his eyes and let his head fall wearily to his chest. Every time she walked away like that, it hurt just a little bit more. He wondered for the first time if his endeavours were selfish, or even entirely destructive. That he'd be stuck in this miserable state all because he was foolhardy enough to chase after a girl who didn't give a damn about him. He couldn't tell if it was icy anger or desperate dread that made him suddenly feel so cold.

Taking a deep breath, he opened his eyes once more. And he slumped heavily down into a chair, head in his hands. Scorpius Malfoy didn't often feel stupid, but in that moment, he felt like the dumbest person alive. Asking her to Hogsmeade, never mind the Ball, seemed like a completely stupid idea. He gathered up the books on his side of the desk and put them back in his bag, slinging it over his shoulder with a frown. He was tucking his chair under the table and about to leave when his fingers brushed against something on the table.

He turned slowly to see what it was. A shining slip of paper. A photograph, lying innocently on the wooden desk. Worn at the corners and faded at the edges, he picked it up and held it to his face for examination. Rows of smiling people beamed back at him. Some frowned suspiciously when they didn't recognise the face peering closely at them. Twenty-nine, he counted in total - and most of whom he could identify. Albus, he saw quickly. And Rose. Brothers and sisters for each of them, and cousins who almost universally had that signature Weasley hair. A few Weasley uncles and one aunt, and the friends they'd married. They beamed, even Albus was smiling. Rose hung on the edge of the front row of people, but seemed to be shuffling back into her older cousin's legs - one of the two Veela girls, Scorpius didn't know which - a shy smile on her face. Well, everyone had their shy phases, he supposed with a smile. He unevenly worked his way through naming almost everyone but this one boy - this boy with vividly red hair and a bashful smile, who he couldn't quite place. It struck him how he knew so much about a group of people he'd never met. How many of them would've been able to tell who he was? It struck him how isolated he truly was. It was an uncomfortable thought, sticking to him like a leech and uncomfortably swirling in his chest.

Scorpius carefully slid the picture between the pages of his battered potions books and slung his bag back over his shoulder. Rose could have this photo back next time, when she wasn't about to cry at something he'd probably done.

* * *

"I did it! I did it!"

"What? Finally accepted you serpentine nature?"

"Finally managed to catch up to our height?"

"Leave off, Joshua." Albus rolled his eyes. But it was true. Albus stood a few inches short of Scorpius, who was again an inch or two off Joshua and Max. Alfie was by far the tallest of them all, irritatingly, but at least he didn't often lord it over them. "No," a grin covered his face again, and suddenly all was forgiven, "I asked Lydia to go to the Slug Club with me!"

He flushed pink, looking slightly out of breath as he stood in the doorway of their dorm.

"You did what?!" Max shot upright on his bed, his Arithmancy book flying out of his hand and onto the floor in his haste.

"Professor Vector won't thank you for that."

Max scowled at Alfie. "This is the only time Al's ever shown his balls—"

"— well there was that one time with the showers…"

"—and I don't give a fuck if the book burns itself."

"Go on, what happened?"

"I asked her on the Prefect's rounds. We were talking about… I don't know, maybe butterbeer or something?"

"Butterbeer? So romantic!" Joshua chided.

"Shut up. Anyway, I just kind of blurted it out!"

"Scorpius-style?"

Scorpius shot Alfie a wounded look.

"No. I did it like a normal person. And it was amazing. I see why you two pricks do it all the time now."

Joshua and Max took a mock-bow in unison.

"What did she say?" Scorpius asked, shuffling slightly and getting an irritated meow from Theia in response.

"Well, she just kind of blushed at first. Then she shook her head and said yes." Albus seemed to be off in his own world, grinning to himself. "She's so pretty, I don't know why no one else has gone out with her before."

Scorpius caught the movement out of the corner of his eye. The widening of Joshua's eyes and Max' neck whip round with a slight shake of his head. It wasn't a pleasant thought, but it was a mark of how far they'd come these past few years that Joshua didn't feel the need to brag about whatever he and Lydia had done. If, two years ago, they hadn't become friends, Scorpius was certain that this moment would've got very, very ugly.

"So, that's one date down." Max recovered quickly, but that distinctive confidence in his voice that bordered on cocky sounded hollow. "Who're you taking, Scorpius?"

"Oh, yeah." He hadn't really focused on it. He'd been so focused on chasing down Rose that the Slugclub hadn't even occurred to him. "No idea."

"You've got the entire school at your disposal now, better choose well." Joshua pointed out.

Scorpius grimaced. Any choice he made would only come back to haunt him. If he took Rose — well, that wasn't even an option. If he took Mia, she'd get completely the wrong idea, and Max would perhaps not be okay with that - although for a couple going to the Ball together they didn't appear to be all that close. And anyway, any other girl he took would probably get the wrong idea at this point. Even Grace Hill, or Sabrina Gregg - but she'd be a bad idea on account of Alfie, anyway. And then, the idea struck him. "Alfie! You should come with me." He looked over at his tall friend. "Slughorn tolerates you better than Max and Joshua, and it's not like you'll get the wrong idea." Scorpius waggled his eyebrows, and Alfie rolled his eyes but chose not to comment, quickly diving back into the fragile looking astronomy book he held tenderly in his hands.

"Do you ever stop reading?" Max asked. Alfie lowered his book.

"Sometimes." He pulled the book back in front of his face again. "When you aren't being boring."

* * *

'. _..The ancient Pythia of Delphi is commonly believed to have been an epileptic woman who had fits that were understood as prophecies from the god Apollo - who is lord of prophecy, amongst other traits. However, magical records would suggest that it was actually a highly coveted role for young witches, who would do nothing but sit all day and be able to openly practice magic without fear of being ostracised. Furthermore, no matter what the Pythia was asked, she could reply as she liked and her attendants would interpret it for her. Over time, this job became so highly coveted that foreigners acquired the role, which led to the increase of oracles being written in remarkably broken Greek. Modern scholars, however, still insist that the Pythia was merely a particularly ill muggle girl with little ability to spell.'_

Scorpius snorted. "Wow, how stupid."

"That's harsh."

His heart almost leapt out of his throat. "I-uh- I was just... Rose! Hi."

She paused for a moment before rolling her eyes. "Whatever," she mumbled softly. "Look, I, uh... I wanted to say something."

"Oh?" Scorpius pinched himself under the table. Was he dreaming?

"Outside?" Rose added in a whisper, looking at the table just across from them, where a bunch of third years waved shyly at Scorpius before their faces flashed crimson.

"Uh, yeah. Sure." He nodded with a wave back at the girls. How long had that been happening for, he wondered, slightly bemused.

Packing his bags quickly, he followed a particularly antsy looking Rose out of the library and through the dimly light corridors of the castle, drenched in the red light of the weak sun. Well, if nothing else, at least the weather tomorrow would be alright.

"Why're we going so far? Lost a niffler somewhere?"

He only heard a huff in response.

Finally, they came to a sudden halt on the far side of the third floor where a spiralling tower would take you up to the Gryffindor Tower entrance, if you hiked up two flights of stairs.

"Are you okay?" He asked reluctantly, watching her face for how badly he might have screwed thing up with just three words.

"Don't talk. Do not say one word until I've finished."

Scorpius' mouth dried in an instant. He couldn't talk. He just swallowed hard and nodded, praying all the while that she wasn't a good occlumens.

She began pacing in front of him. "So, I've been thinking. And I've decided that I was too mean to Al - and you. I won't explain myself to you, but I will say that I decided not to like you because - well, you know. It's _obvious_."

Scorpius watched Rose through narrowed eyes. She was going to have to explain that one. And whilst this hadn't gone in the direction he would've preferred, he decided that an interruption would be at his peril.

"I admit that I was not kind to you. I admit that I stood by and watched what people said to and about you - even agreed with some of it. I admit that they were ludicrous rumours and thusly it was unfair to blemish your character with. Furthermore, I did not even try to acquaint myself with your character. Whilst I assumed that you wanted to beat me every ounce as much as I wanted to beat you in every test, you never said as much. And whilst I assumed that you were a massive pillock, I never took time to discover this for myself. Therefore, the only logical conclusion is that I miscalculated my actions at the expense of your emotional wellbeing.

"So... well, what I'm trying to say is..." She stopped pacing abruptly, squaring her shoulders and tensing her jaw. "I'm sorry, Malfoy."

Scorpius blinked vacantly. "Okay."

"What?" She asked, utterly dumbfounded. She whirled around and stared him down where he sat on the remarkably cold windowsill. "That's it?"

He shrugged, nonplussed. "Yeah. You apologised, and I'm fine with it. It's okay. What's the big deal?"

"What's the big- Ugh!" She massaged her temples. "It took me ages to think up what to say!"

He bit his lips to keep from smiling. It was blindingly obvious that she had rehearsed the speech to perfection in her head. Only robots spoke as unnaturally as that, after all. "I appreciated the speech then. Thank you."

Rose rolled her eyes and gave him an irritated look - which, by his counting, was better than loathing! "Fine. And this absolutely does not make us friends. But it does mean that we can go back to square one. Deal?"

Scorpius already knew that he was in too deep to ever go back to square one with Rose. "Deal," he took her outstretched hand and they shook on it.

"I'm leaving. You can go back the way we came - it'll be quicker for you." Without waiting to hear a reply, Rose was gone. He smiled after her and waited until she was utterly gone from view to do his very own silent dance.

It was working.

It was working!

He had a chance!

It's the little things in life.

* * *

Scorpius stretched in his seat.

"Careful!" Max warned from next to him, as Scorpius accidently sent a cascade of snow from the end of his wand over Max.

"Oh," he brushed a bit of the snow off Max' hair, "sorry."

Max went back to staring almost crosseyed at the end of his wand and trying to produce some kind of snow. They had been working on elemental production spells recently - first with fire, then water, and now to produce snow as a natural graduation towards ice spells.

"No, but seriously, when has this spell ever been useful?" Albus mumbled as the snow from his wand immediately melted away into water and dropped down onto his lap.

"My brothers have used it a few times. When they didn't want anyone to see where they'd been or when they'd come back in." He blinked unabashedly at their blank faces. "Fill in the footprints in the snow, no one can see where you've been...?"

"Sneaky."

"So you mean to tell me that the only use for this spell is some insane espionage level shit?" Max groaned. "Why did I take charms?"

"Because you love being with us." Scorpius beamed to his frowning friend.

Max rolled his eyes.

"Hey, Scor," Albus nudged Scorpius from his left, "did you and Rose make up or something?"

"Kinda why-"

"Don't look! She's just staring at you is all."

"Why can't I look?" He looked over to the opposite set of benches and, sure enough, there was Rose, between Paige Finnegan and Jasmine Thomas-Taylor, and she gave him a shy smile. "Oh my god."

"Um... Are you going to be okay?" Max asked awkwardly.

"Yep." He said tersely. He gave her as much of a smile as he could back before she raised her eyebrows with a laughing look that said 'really?' and turned her attention to Isabelle, who seemed to be setting her snow on fire as she made it.

"Miss Monroe! No, please stop!" The ancient professor squeaked as he hurried over, but not before a small fire erupted on their desk.

"Oh... oh no," Alfie muttered.

"Everybody, calm down!" The professor squeaked. "Now, since only Miss Granger-Weasley and Mr Malfoy seem to be able to produce snow that does not immediately melt nor set on fire, let's have them demonstrate their work. Please, come to the front.

"Oh, you goody-goody." Max scoffed.

"Seriously, _how_? I just cast the bloody spell!" Scorpius whined as he stood and did that eternally awkward shuffle out of a narrow row of seats.

He and Rose made their way to the platform between the two long benches where all twenty-something students sat, and stood awkwardly next to each other. Well, Scorpius felt awkward, twiddling his wand between his hands. Rose, for her part, stood as confidently as always. But now and then, he could feel her eyes on him, and it did nothing to help alleviate his awkwardness.

"Please, individually demonstrate the spell." Flitwick asked them.

The pair looked at each other confusedly.

"What- like make a pile of snow here?"

"Yes, Mr Malfoy."

"Okay."

Concentrating hard, he channelled his energy into saying the spell loudly and clearly in his mind, and then it happened. A cold, clear shower of snow, falling prettily in the cold autumnal sunlight to the floor.

"Do you see? This is how the spell is supposed to look. Now," Professor Flitwick stood before the pair, "I want you both to create something with it."

"Like a snowman?"

"Yes, if you please."

"Or a snowwoman."

"Make a snow child, if it pleases you."

Rose and Scorpius looked at each other. "Snow child?"

"Yes."

They again started creating their snow, and, as they did, it began to take form beneath them. One small ball of snow on the ground before them.

"Let's do another next to it."

"Why should we?"

"Then we can put one on top of another and it'll look better."

"Ah."

And so they made another ball. And, wordlessly, another.

"Students, this is the effect of this spell. Whilst it may not have much value as a snow creation spell compared with the very high importance of fire or water,"

"Do you want to assemble the body and I'll conjure the coal?" Scorpius asked.

Rose nodded, and wordlessly levitated the three balls of snow, one on top of another.

"-it is another spell that can be used as a canvas on which other spells can be applied."

" _Carbo compareo_." Scorpius muttered, and several chunks of coal appeared in his hand. Shrinking them down, he gave several to Rose and with a keen eye for perfection placed them on the knee-high snow creation.

"You appear to be forgetting something." Professor Flitwick nodded to the little snow child.

Stepping back, Scorpius admired their work. It was cute and, oh- "It's got no arms."

Rose laughed softly. "Would you like to do the honours?"

Scorpius shook his head. "You go on."

Rose mumbled a spell softly and conjured two sticks which she placed into the snow child's body.

"Excellent." professor Flitwick declared. "And now, the point: just as easily as you should be able to conjure something made of snow with this elemental spell, you should be able to destroy it with another. _Incendio_."

The snow child was gone before it even had a chance to live. Scorpius gasped in horror, watching as, in seconds, it was gone.

"There, there. It didn't even have a name." Rose rolled her eyes. That didn't make Scorpius feel any better.

"Thank you, Mr Malfoy, Miss Granger-Weasley. You may return to your seats."

Scorpius reluctantly parted from Rose, awkwardly shuffling down the isles until he sat back down in his slightly damp seat.

"Have you been making more water again?"

"I did try to evaporate it all." Albus offered, apologetically.

"That's the nicest I've ever seen Rose be to you." Max intoned as Flitwick began telling the class how he was disappointed in their efforts with this spell.

"I know. It's awesome."

"Always the optimist."

"...by next class, you must be able to form a spherical ball of snow. If not, then I will set you a 14" essay on the practical application of this spell - which, mark my words, will not be easy." Professor Flitwick gave them a stern glare which was surprisingly terrifying from the little old man. "Class dismissed. I'll see you all in a few days."

"So, Scorpius. What was better about that class - knowing you have no homework, or actually getting along with Rose?"

"C'mon. Is that even a question?"

"Well, as the ethical heart of Operation: Rose-"

"Um, it's actually The Rose Plan," Max interrupted.

"Whatever. I'd say that I'm more optimistic about its success than I ever was before."

Scorpius grinned to himself. Not to say that he was feeling chuffed, but if the world ended in that moment, he'd be pretty happy.

* * *

"So you mean to tell me that in the muggle world, these films where they have characters doing magic is explained as 'science'?" Scorpius squinted. "That makes almost no sense. They're just not the same. At all."

"I mean, sure it does. I told you how batshit it was when I discovered my powers, and some of my family actually had a concept of magic existing. For the people who don't think it exists at all, they've got to explain it somehow."

Scorpius, Joshua and Max posed at the top of an absent flight of stairs.

"It's still bloody mental that this exists in our world." Max added, before being distracted by a flirtatious looking lady from a portrait nearby.

"Yeah, and it's to them mental that our world exists in theirs. Anyway, you're the ones who asked about what 'them muggles do in their holidays'."

"I just wasn't expecting to be so well informed about 'Holly-tree'—

"— Hollywood—"

"Yeah, thanks, by the end." Scorpius finished. "Anyway," he began as they hopped down the stairs when they finally turned up and strolled down the Runes corridor, turning to make sure they still had Max with them, "it's not like that's all muggles do in their summer holidays, right? Like they've got to have some other hob—"

"Scorpius!"

Joshua's warning came too late, and he felt a shoulder whack right into his lungs and he felt all the air being pushed out of him.

"Ow! Oh..." he looked up to see Rose standing there, massaging her shoulder.

"Oh, Rose! Ah, oh my- I'm, I'm so sorry!" Isabelle stood next to her, looking like she might explode from containing her smile, for some reason. "Are you okay?"

She nodded, the frown easing. "Sure, are you?"

Scorpius nodded wordlessly. Mostly because it still didn't feel like he had the air in his lungs to do so. "Just watch where you're going, okay?"

"I'll certainly try to avoid anymore chesty-confrontations."

He could almost feel the power of Joshua and Max' cringes.

"Okay, sure, Malfoy." Rose sighed desperately as she left. "See you, Max, Joshua."

"Later." Isabelle declared, with a smile and a wink that could've been for Max or could've been for the gargoyle behind them.

"You _have_ to step up your game, mate." Joshua declared with a grim-set face.

"Oh Merlin yeah, desperately."

And with a dopey smile he replied, "Still, though, I kind of have a good feeling about this."

* * *

 _Aaaand if any of you can guess my major then I'll be so damn impressed. But like, y'know, it's kinda obvious._

 _Anyway, do you guys think it's really going to be plain smooth sailing from here? Let me know!_

 _Thanks for reading. Please follow for more and review if you've got time. Thanks!_


	11. The Slug Club

**_Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter_**

 _Hello, friends! Welcome back. Thank you to catwomannnnnn1, BellaStoria (thanks! I really like pairing them up to use their skills too, it's so fun!), AMBERJANUS (good to see you back, thank you!), MLMarint (I hope school's going okay!) and Guest for your reviews. As always, I am eternally grateful for all your input so thank you to infinity and back!_

 _Enjoy!_

* * *

 _Chapter 11: The Slug Club_

To borrow a muggle phrase, recently things had been coming up Scorpius. Or, maybe they'd been coming up Rose. Actually, he didn't really know and Joshua wasn't the best at explaining these things.

In Transfiguration, she helped him with an answer. In Potions she accepted the frog's eyes he leant her, and when they met eyes over the Great Hall - or rather, she caught him staring at her - she didn't give him a glare. In fact, things were going so well that when Thursday evening and the first Slug Club meeting of the year came, he wasn't utterly dreading it.

Usually, he and Al would go together - both alone. They hadn't got the memo last year that dates were preferred during the first and other such important events for upper years, and it's not like they could've got one easily. Together, they'd endeavour to keep themselves entertained, try not to act very drunk when they were in fact quite tipsy from James' secret firewhisky stash, and try not to laugh at the weirder things Slughorn said. Well, even if Al was _otherwise occupied_ this year, at least he had Alfie.

Evening came quickly, sliding over the castle as the frosty mist slid over the highland hills. Scorpius and Alfie, clad in their finest dress-robes - deep crimson for Scorpius and a refined silver for Alfie - plodded over to Slughorn's spacious office, having watched a nervous Albus wander off to find Lydia some twenty minutes earlier. Even after having seen the headmistresses' office a few times, and the Longbottom's rooms at least once, Scorpius was confident that Slughorn's office was still bigger than either of theirs. Albus had put about the theory for years now that Slughorn had some dirt on McGonagall. As they stepped into the first of Slughorn's six adjoining dungeon rooms, Scorpius was again slightly inclined to believe him.

"Ah, Scorpius! And who've we got here?" Slughorn pulled a perplexed face at the tall boy standing completely unphased at Scorpius' elbow.

"Oh, this is my friend, Alfie. We've been dorm mates for years, and I didn't quite get around to asking anyone in time…"

"But my boy, I'm sure there's more than enough opportunities for you nowadays!" Scorpius laughed uneasily as Slughorn hauled an arm over his shoulders, leading him away from the gathering crowd. He looked back desperately to Alfie who was, unhelpfully, biting his lips to stop himself laughing. "Now then young man, that show at the Quidditch match! Rather outstanding, I should say."

Scorpius chuckled slightly nervously. "Well, I just played as normal."

"Yes, but the way you supported the other players!" Scorpius felt uncomfortable under the old man's glare. He had a fleeting sense of compassion for Albus' dad and his friends. He still didn't understand why it was such a big deal for everyone. Sure, he probably looked cool, but that's not enough to laud someone over. "My dear boy, you saved that poor girl's life!"

"Oh, I don't know about that…" Scorpius shifted a bit, casting an eye over to Alfie and giving a desperately pleading look. He usually didn't mind being taken off by Slughorn so much, but his heavy arm over Scorpius' shoulders and all his fawning on top of double potions this afternoon was simply too much.

"Professor Slughorn?" Alfie called, striding over to them. "More guests have arrived."

"Oh," Slughorn turned to face the door, looking at the new arrivals, "Yes, I see. Thank you — what was your name again?"

"Alfie Campbell, Professor."

"Yes, Campbell." He turned the word over like a coin on a dead man's tongue. "Related to, uhh… Douglas Campbell?"

"Yes, he's my third eldest brother."

Slughorn nodded, eyeing Alfie wearily. "He made the most explosive Exploding Potion I've ever seen."

Alfie was left at a loss for words as Slughorn pottered away.

"I sincerly have nothing to say." Alfie's as the pair watched Slughorn shuffle over to greet the two terrified looking first years who wandered in uncertainly.

"Isn't he the one who you said went on the days-long rave?"

"Oh, no. That was Alexander. Douglas is an accountant now."

They both burst into laughter.

If the night had begun strangely, it only got weirder from there. As time wore on, they were wafted into the dining room by Slughorn's house elf ushers. Scorpius didn't even want to think about where they came from or what Slughorn was bribing them with to do this. Sure, house elves didn't mind doing stuff that compariticly looked like slave-labour, but Slughorn was a notoriously 'old-fashioned' wizard, and that was putting it kindly. As Scorpius went to sit down, a small skirmish broke out amongst a few third and fourth year-looking girls.

"No, _I_ want to sit next to him!" He was sure he had heard one of them whine, but Albus effectively cut off the arguement when he sat down on Scorpius' only unoccupied side without so much as a second glance.

"Alright?" He asked, with a punch-drunk smile on his face. Lydia was sitting next to him, dressed in silky pale red dress robes with a thick green brocade and red lipstick. She looked so pretty that Scorpius wasn't surprised Albus looked to be away with the fairies. Nor why they'd both been the last to turn up, to Slughorn's disapproval. No matter how early the last one to arrive was, it was always too late for him.

"I love your dress robes, Lydia." Alfie commented, breaking the short silence that had settled over the four as Albus and Scorpius grinned at each other in silent coversation

"Oh, these? Thank you." She flushed. "They were my mother's old ones. She said her mother made them, before her."

"Vintage. They've worn very well."

"For someone with no sister, you really are attentive to fashion." Albus quipped.

Alfie bit back a reply, but they all knew what had been coming - _for someone with a sister, Albus really was inattentive_.

Scorpius caught sight of Rose, not for the first time tonight, and his breath caught in his chest again. She was wearing deep emerald, almost black robes and her hair had been sleeked back into a soft updo. She looked beautiful to his eyes no matter what, but this was really something. He tried his best to tear his eyes away.

"Well before we start, I would like to introduce our two newest additions: Lacey Wood is the younger sister of our Daniel, and Elizabeth Black I happened to catch performing the finest levitation charm I've ever seen from a first year."

The small, pale girl with mousey hair squirmed under the weight of Slughorn's praise. Lacey, the girl who looked the unnervingly similar twin of Daniel, just smiled widely next to her. There really are two kinds of people.

Dinner proceeded on in a typical affair and circled back around to Scorpius' quidditch success more often than he found necessary. It was like the atmosphere had been in the Slytherin common room for a week after the game; people recounted it everywhere, and the stories slowly went from Scorpius saving Isla as she almost wobbled off her broom, to him swooping down and catching her out of the air. He even swore he once heard a group of third years arguing over whether she dropped one hundred or two hundred feet before he caught her. But what made it even more awkward was that Daniel Wood was sitting just next to Scorpius' eye line, and he could see the Hufflepuff's face drop every time the topic came up. All the students heard what had happened in the Great Hall just before the game, after all.

"And are you at liberty to discuss any of your mother's recent work, Miss Granger-Weasley?"

Rose swallowed her mouthful of ice cream with a mildly pained look on her face. "Well," she spoke with a hand covering her mouth, "I'm afraid there is a lot I can't say - and even more that I don't know - however, I do know that she is currently working with the Minister for the Magical Environment on a bill to swap the use of parchment for paper, Professor."

" _Paper_? What is that?"

"Oh," Rose put down her spoon, watching the ice cream melt a little mournfully, "it's a material made of wood pulp which is used all over the muggle world as a writing and printing material."

"And why, praytell, is parchment not good enough? I seem to remember your mother using rather a lot of it whilst she was at Hogwarts." Slughorn really could get offended over the slightest of things, Scorpius acknowledged as he took another bite of chocolate-fudge ice cream. Oh, but he did have _excellent_ food...

Rose looked briefly flustered, but regained her composure quickly. "That isn't to say that parchment isn't good, but that paper is, all things considered, a superior material. It's been muggle standard centuries, and considering that the muggle world is pushing for environmental care, it only seems fit that we do our part for the earth, too."

"It appears that we have our very next minister amongst us, students."

Rose smiled uncomfortably. "Well — that's all what my mother believes, anyway."

Slughorn sighed heavily, pushing his empty bowl away from himself, seeming not to have heard what Rose said at all. "Well, how times have changed. Now we're cow-towing to the standards of a _muggle world_!"

Scorpius could barely believe it when Slughorn caught his eye, nor when he gave a look that suggested he and Slughorn shared a complaint there.

"Not that I dislike them, of course, I have several muggle-friendly friends myself." Alfie shifted uncomfortably next to Scorpius and a few seats down, James disguised a laugh with a poorly-timed cough.

"Now then," Slughorn continued on, as though nothing had happened, "shall we mingle?"

"Merlin," Alfie sighed when Slughorn was out of earshot, "that's the equivalent of 'I'm not a homophobe, I have gay friends'."

Scorpius snorted. "You know, now that I think about it, I actually don't think I do have any gay friends."

"Yes, yes you do." Alfie replied with raised eyebrows and a tired look. "Well, it's just a mathematical certainty."

Scorpius frowned and simply nodded as Alfie walked off, presumably to the bathroom or maybe to talk to one of his thousands of friends, and Scorpius made his way over to James Potter, hoping that he had at least brought a bit of firewhisky this time.

"Looking for drinks?" James asked, flashing the bottle out of his robes with a cheeky grin.

"It's like you read my mind."

The two poured quick shots and downed them, and immediately Scorpius felt better about being at this party. It was just so hard to be out there, talking to people he didn't know - especially when Al wasn't at his side and Alfie had buggered off to realms unknown.

"Much better." Scorpius sighed.

James raised a concerned pair of eyebrows. "You got a drinking problem there?"

"Don't be silly, I won't develop that for at least six years if I'm lucky with my genes. No, it's just nice to have a drink so I can loosen up at this places."

James snorted. "Alright, that's a fair point. You and Al really are very similar."

"Well, you know what they say. Pairs... attract?"

"That is absolutely not how it goes. But sure, I guess." He laughed, and ruffled a hand through his hair. Legend had it that if you were a male wizard named James Potter, you must _do_ that. Albus had iratley informed him of that within days of their meeting.

The two surveyed the room in amicable silence; a big leap of progress for Scorpius. The Potter-Weasley clan didn't often hang out with him if they could avoid it.

"How many drinks do you think it'll take for Albus to declare his undying love for that girl?" James asked, nodding over to Albus and Lydia happily dancing away together.

Scorpius grinned. "His _undying_ / love?"

James cackled to himself grimly. "I know where he keeps his diary at home. I know what spell he used to seal it."

Scorpius laughed along with him. He'd always thought that James was a better brother that Albus realised. Any other brother would've painted it on the walls of the entrance hall by now, or at least told the girl in question. But James didn't. Besides, he was company that could be mandatorily enforced - and who didn't want that? The same went for Lily, too.

"Is that how they ended up on prefect duty together?"

James shrugged. "Maybe. Maybe not," but there was a twinkle in his eye that said most unequivocally 'yes'. "Don't worry, Scorpius, we'll hook you up soon. Anyway," he straightened up, "I'm off to spike the butterbeer. Later."

As he left to attend to the butterbeer fountain, Scorpius smiled to himself. It was the first time Scorpius had been actively involved in the Weasley family's circle without simply being that friend of Albus'. It was a warm feeling. That comforting glow that covered your chest and enveloped your heart. It had been several years since he'd felt that, now.

Scorpius watched the room as he stood at the sides, alone. He caught sight of Rose as a pair of second years walked close by to him and gave him a shy wave. She looked beautiful. That was never going to be any different to him. But tonight more than ever he got that all encompassing feeling in his heart that she was the only woman on the planet. She caught his eye, and they locked gazes. A second, stretched out into a millennium. And then she looked away. The candlelight cast a rosy glow on her cheeks. She was just perfect. He never wanted anyone else - he never had. It was as though his heart beat for one purpose and one purpose alone - to one day beat next to hers.

"Hey- uh, Scorpius?" Scorpius pulled back a grimace. His heart beat slowed to a steady pace. It was Daniel Wood.

He adjusted the itchy seam on his left shoulder. "Yeah- oh. Hello." Scorpius couldn't help it. He couldn't help that the soul went out of his voice when he saw Daniel. This was the boy who was openly discriminatory to him, just because he was the son of one particular man. And, more pressingly, the boy who just disrupted his beautiful fantasies.

"I um... I wanted to apologise." His voice was hesitant, and he couldn't meet Scorpius' eyes.

"Really? Because it looks like you're just feeling bad that people aren't catering to you all the time anymore."

It was true. Daniel Wood wasn't the treasure of Hufflepuff house anymore. He didn't even bring a date tonight - something he usually had no problem flaunting. He didn't ecome the centre of the Hufflepuff table when he sat down, and people didn't smile when they saw him in the corridors. It gave Scorpius a bitter, twisted, guilty pleasure to know that for once, Daniel Wood had an inkling of what it was like to be him.

"No, I mean it. You were right, I was being an arse. I wasn't thinking about how I was affecting anyone, I was just thinking about myself. And I'm sorry about that. It's against Hufflepuff code to be cruel to someone because of something they can't control."

Scorpius watched him, watched the light reignite in Daniel's dark brown eyes. "Okay." He shrugged. "It's fine. Just don't do it again, alright?"

Daniel's lips pulled into a half smile. But atleast this time, it wasn't cocky as hell. "I won't. Never. I can _promise_ that,"

Scorpius patted him on the shoulder. "Keep it." He called after Daniel as he walked away.

"You made up with him?" Alfie asked.

"Yeah. Well, you know. If he's going to apologise then that's fine. It's a different story as to whether he stays that way."

Alfie hummed, not quite in agreement, as Albus bounded over.

"Alright, mate?"

"Scorpius — you have no idea."

Scorpius nodded, setting a firm hand on his friend's shoulder to steady him. "I'll bet. Is she nice?"

" _Nice_?" Alfie and Albus echoed at once.

"I don't know! We all know you'd like her no matter what, I'm just trying to make an effort."

"We know." Alfie sighed wearily, giving Scorpius an affectionate smile. "Hey— Albus. She's coming back over."

"Alright. Well, I'd never expose her to hanging around you lot so I'll see you soon."

Scorpius and Alfie only laughed as he left as quickly as he'd come. They all knew that Albus was by no stretch of the imagination 'cool'. By that measure, neither was Scorpius.

"He knows he's absolutely _not_ cool, right?"

"Probably. Hopefully."

Alfie and Scorpius chatted on the fringes of the party for a while, passing the time and drinking liberally spiked butterbeet when the situation presented itself. Soon enough the conversation turned back to betting when Albus was going to ask out Lydia, and the stakes were only raised when they watched the pair slip out of Slughorn's rooms.

The pair turned slowly to look each other in the eyes, but said nothing. They didn't need to say anything.

"Scorpius!" Slughorn padded over to them, a broad grin on his walrus-moustached face. "Ah, and Mr Campbell. Please, let me ask - how are all your brothers doing. Four, if I remember correctly? Six?"

"Five, Professor. I'm the sixth." Alfie wheezed as Slughorn hit him surprisingly hard on the back. He was most certainly a few drinks deep by now.

"I see, I see..." It was almost tangible in his eyes; that look when he lost all interesting in talking to Alife. If it weren't so utterly tragic it might've been less funny. "Ah, yes. Scorpius. I was just wondering - what are your plans for the future?"

"I-uh..." Scorpius was rarely prepared for that question, but especially not now.

"What are you going to do after you leave Hogwarts?"

"Well- I was thinking that maybe I'd take over my father's seat on the Wizengamott." Even Scorpius could hear how unenthused he sounded.

"And what else might you want to do?"

"Perhaps an archivist. Or, maybe even..."

"Yes, go on." Slughorn coaxed him like one might persuade a baby kitten into a cage.

"...I want to become a potions master, too." He admitted shyly. It wasn't all he saw in his future, but it was a part of it. A larger part the older he got.

"I'd hoped you might answer like that." Slughorn's eyes gleamed. "Come back to my office tomorrow evening, and I'll talk to you about an offer I have."

Scorpius was left stunned to silence as Slughorn was distracted by Lily, James, and a few others debating whether unicorn hair really was multicoloured, as he shuffled off mumbling to himself.

Scorpius turned to look at Alfie, but he wasn't there. He scanned the room for his tall friend, but he couldn't find him anyway. Actually, the room looked surprisingly thread-bear by now. The young students seemed to have all vanished. Naoki Greensmith And Freya Walsh were intensely debating... something. James, Lily, and a gaggle of other cousins and their friends were involved in the unicorn hair debate. Alfie had disappeared somewhere - hopefully not to where Albus and Lydia had gone - and Jasmine Thomas, Paige Finnegan and Millie Longbottom were arrayed on the sumptuous purple and white stripe couches but the fireplace.

"Funny how these parties get so quiet so fast, isn't it?"

Scorpius was so shocked by the sweet voice in his ear he almost dropped his glass.

"Rose!"

"Malfoy!" She echoed the shock in his tone. "Try not to have a heart attack, it'd be awfully difficult to explain away your dying at my feet.

"I'm doing my best." Was all he could manage in response. His lungs were still lodged in his throat and he wasn't having much success pushing them back down.

Silence stood between them.

"So, where are all your friends?"

"Albus took off a while ago now, and Alfie seemed to kind of... disappear."

"Disappear? He told me you wanted saving from Slughorn."

"Oh. Well, he's not wrong,"

"He can be a bit overbearing, can't he?"

"I don't usually mind, he's sort of like how I imagine an uncle or a grandfather," Scorpius admitted, "it's just all the quidditch stuff lately."

"I see," was all Rose said. He was thankful for it.

"What about you? What did you need saving from?"

"They're debating which cousin is the hottest again."

Scorpius almost chocked on the sip he'd just taken. "I can't imagine why you wouldn't want to join in with that!"

"I know - we all sit around the Burrow and have this conversation every Christmas!"

"Oh I see. Have you had this conversation too many times to join in again?"

"Yes. And we all know that Lucy wins every time, anyway."

They caught each other's eyes and laughed. It was the first time they'd ever shared a joke together, and the feeling was like tasting the sweetest springtime honey.

"Hey, do you remember that fight you and Al had in Defence Against the Dark Arts?"

"You're going to have to be a bit more specific." She admitted with a wry smile.

"You know, the Patronus one?"

"Oh," she ruminated fondly, "yes, I do remember that one."

It'd been one of the most memorable Defence Against the Dark Arts lessons Scorpius had ever had. They'd been learning how to cast a Patronus, and as soon as the professor had left the room to get something, Rose had pointed out how Albus' Patronus looked like a reindeer. But Albus insisted it was a stag. They'd fought until the professor came back in and silenced the both of them with a swift flick of her wand.

"It did look like a reindeer to be fair." Scorpius admitted. He'd die for his friend, but to lie that it wasn't a reindeer would be a step too far.

"I'm telling you, I know it was. It's a shame, if he could actually cast a fully corpreal Patronus, we'd put this argument to bed."

"But that's ridiculously hard to do."

"Can you do it?" She challenged.

"Of course _I_ can."

She raised both eyebrows. "Really?"

"Yeah. Of course I can!"

She scanned the room, biting the edge of her lip. "Come on then. I bet mine's better than yours."

The prospect of challenge got his heart thumping as fast as Rose simply being beautiful did. "I really doubt it."

"Prove it."

"Okay." Scorpius followed her out of the room, putting his glass down on the nearest table as they slipped out of the sitting room, back through to the entrance way and were spat back out into the dungeons.

"Come on, I know the perfect corridor for this."

"Challenge people to cast patronises a lot, do you?"

She snorted. "Only occasionally."

"What even is the plural of that spell?"

She gave an exaggerated sigh. "Whatever you desire. Patroniates - there, is that good?"

"Perfect."

"Here." She declared when they reached the rounded room at the end of one corridor, the stairs to the south leading back into the dungeons and the path to the east taking them to the Firenze's divination classroom.

"How do you even know this place is good for this?"

"I borrowed Al's map last summer. I know about your hideout too."

Scorpius stuttered. "A-Are you going to turn us in?"

Rose rolled her eyes at him. "Come on then," she continued, unfazed by his blushing cheeks and impatient to prove herself right. "Show me what you've got."

"Alright. Don't be too disappointed though."

Scorpius stepped in line with her, windows looking out over the grounds and flooded with the light of the full moon behind them. He plucked his happiest memories from a fistful stored in the back of his mind: the day he spent with his mother and father in the mountains of Wales when he was seven, meeting Albus on the train when they were eleven, and other images he didn't usually let himself think about outside of dreams. He felt like his heart was going to burst with the emotion.

" _Expecto patronum_!" They called in unison, and bright white lights burst from the end of their wands. When it cleared, they were left with two animals, composed of silvery lights, illuminating the corridor.

Scorpius's sparrow, larger than a normal sparrow in the wild, flew gracefully around the room. And out of Rose's wand came a butterfly. Large, with oval wings that shimmered now blue, now green, and flapped it's enormous wings in the chilly night air.

"A butterfly—"

"A sparrow?"

They asked in unison.

"So we both have a weird Patronus." Scorpius compromised, watched as the two animals drew closer to each other. They began to swirl and intertwine, playing in the glittering trail the other made.

"Sparrows are nice. There's always a few nesting in my garden." Scorpius explained. "It's not like you can say those bloody great butterflies nest in your garden."

Rose cast him a tired look. "It's not like you always have to know exactly why you get a Patronus. My dad's not a dog but his patronus is a spaniel. Aunt Ginny's is a horse."

Scorpius hummed in agreement. "'Suppose so. My dad's is a dolphin."

Rose fell silent on the topic. She usually would've bit back a not-so-subtle reply about his father's past, but she didn't this time. And he was glad. He barely even remembered what his father's patronus looked like, anyway. It'd been years since he last cast one. He used to cast dolphins to send messages to a giggling Scorpius when he was younger... but not for many years now.

His Patronus extinguished into a silver glow, and then faded away. The happy memories slipped from his grasp.

"Malfoy?"

Rose's Patronus faded too. She stepped closer to him; so close that he could smell the floral scent of her hair and feel the heat radiating from her body. He looked down at her, grey eyes meeting smouldering brown. He stepped closer to her.

Suddenly, a loud crash echoed down the corridor. He gave a mumbled yelp, and he felt Rose stiffen next to him.

"Ah!"

* * *

 _No but seriously, what is the plural of Patronus?_

 _Also, if any of you have correctly deduced my major and thus also know which field of study I plucked the inspiration for their patronuses... patroni? then you'll get a big hint on where we're going. *wink wink*_

 _Anyway, please review if you've got time (I highly, highly value it!) and follow for more. Thanks!_


	12. The Photograph

**_Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter._**

 _Hello everyone! Sorry that I'm a bit later today, I'm back at university and oh my god why is there so much work? Final year is no joke! Complaints aside, let's get on with this._

 _Thank you to **Guest, catwomannnnnn1** (I'm glad my cliff-hanger had the intended effect on you! Sorry!), **BellaStoria, MLMarint** (Good luck with your exams! It's the final push now, you can do this!), **Guest** (Wow, that was such a kind review, thank you so much!), **LuciousNesa** (I'm so sorry to hear that you were sick, but welcome back! I'm very glad you're still enjoying this, and I hope you feel better soon!), **and Guest** for your reviews. It's crazy - we broke 4,000 views this week and I can't believe that I'm so lucky to be receiving so much love for this story! Thank you all so, so much! Your reviews give me the will to edit at 1 am._

 _Enjoy!_

* * *

 _Chapter 12: The Photograph_

Scorpius could've sworn he'd heard a Giant roar.

Or if not that, he definitely heard the chamber of secrets groan.

Perhaps it was the pipes shifting behind the walls.

Either way, the sound crashed around the hall and echoed in his skull. His heart was beating out of his chest. He realised, without having quite noticed what he'd done, that he was standing in front of Rose, arms outstretched, protecting her from whatever was coming. Scorpius blinked, mouth slightly agape.

For a Slytherin, that was a new one.

"Oh, calm down. It's probably just excited and severly lost first years." Rose extracted herself from Scorpius' shielding arms and stepped around him. From the look she was giving him, she didn't appreciate his 'gentelmanly manners'. It's not like he _meant_ to do it.

Nervously he took a few tiny steps forwards. He looked around for anything scary, wand out and pulled close around him. "Who is it?"

Rose disappeared down a few stairs, wand casting an eerie blue-white glow over the dark corridor. "Oh. _Oh_." She sniggered to herself. "Come on."

He followed the sound of her voice, lighting his wand and holding it steadily in front of himself. Before he got to the bottom of the staircase, or even got a proper look at them, he heard them.

Giggling and stumbling, he saw Albus Potter and Lydia Griffiths clambering to their feet with the wall and each other as unsteady guides. Beside them, a suit of armour stood crumbled slowly to the ground, one gauntlet on the other side of the room inching around the floor in search of his body.

"Al— what the fuck?"

"Oh! Hey! Scorpius! And it's Roooosiie!" He almost sang it, throwing his arms wide. "Did you two—?" He asked Scorpius when he got near Albus. shoving an arm around his shoulders and pulling him upright.

Whispering quietly into his ear, Scorpius said, "You bloody dare say anything and I'll cut your balls off." Instead of a gentle arm around his shoulders, Scorpius pulled him roughly to his feet again.

Pulling a 'serious' face, Albus sniggered to himself, drawing an imaginary zip across his mouth. " _Nothing_ from _me_."

"How much did you two drink?" Scorpius asked Lydia, who had linked arms with Rose and looked significantly soberer than Albus.

"Oh, not that much! Slughorn was a bit lax about leaving his whiskey bottle open and, well..." she giggled at Albus. " _I_ didn't even have that much more than _you_! I'm not- I'm not even _drunk_!"

Rose, fighting her laughter, pulled a wandering Lydia back to her side again. "Oh, well now that is a good point, you are _absolutely_ not drunk. But I'm going to take you back up to Ravenclaw Tower anyway."

"Aw, Rosie, you would?" Lydia cooed. "You are just the sweetest! No wonder half the boys in the school are desperate to take you to the Ball!"

"I'm only desperate to take one girl to the Ball!" Albus mumbled, thankfully mostly to himself. Unfortunatly for almost all standing there, drunk people really do have a way of catching anything they want to hear, and Lydia turned to face him with a gasp.

"You _do_?"

"You're the prettiest girl there is. And... I like you." Scorpius could only watch in mild horror as Albus reverted to a younger version of himself. Suddenly, he had great sympathy for Max and Joshua watching Scorpius and Albus' bumbling selves. However, judging from Lydia's enthusiastic nod, it was somehow working.

And then, they started snogging.

"Oh my-"

"Merlin."

"I'm just going to-"

"- yeah let's take them back."

They managed to seperate the two sucker fish-like teens, which Scorpius would absoltely never get out of his brain ever again, and they were almost up the stairs to the third floor large landing when Rose spoke again.

"At least she's not as drunk as Al. Ravenclaw Tower's a long way from here."

"But will you even be able to get in?"

Her face fell like thunder. The pit of Scorpius' stomach dropped like a heavy cannonball and he thought that maybe everything could be lost. Hot blood crept up the back of his neck like a spider.

"Don't be so smug, Malfoy." She spat out his name, and he was taken back several years. "Of course I can get in, what do you think I am - stupid? _Honestly_." She frogmarched Lydia away, leaving Albus and a Scorpius silent in her wake.

"What— where'd— Rosie?!" He called.

"She's gone, mate." Scorpius put his arm around Albus again and started the torturously slow walk back to the dungeons. "Again."

"You know, it's almost like you're trying really hard to fuck it up at the last second every time."

"Oh go on then, you expert."

"So like, sure it's better now that she's decided to take the high-road or whatever the fuck she called it. But before, you know, like she literally only thought of you as the slick smug guy who beats her in class. You should've seen her rant three Christmases ago." He cackled to himself, seemingly forgetting that Scorpius was even there.

Swallowing hard, Scorpius listened in stony silence. And then he thought, how much was Albus drunk-bullshitting and how much was actually true? No matter how much it may hurt his ego, he had to know. So he asked. "And?"

"Just stop saying things that make her angry."

"Easier said than done, there."

Albus stopped suddenly, taking an exaggerated sigh. "Oh- I forgot."

"Helpful drunk, aren't you?"

"Number one."

He hummed out loud in the middle of the corridor to the main dungeons, the dim light of the little torches barely casting any light over the two.

"Any progress."

Albus simply shrugged. "Don't be a smug git, mate. It's as easy as that!"

Scorpius rolled his eyes, urging Albus on with a slight shove. "Alright then. How am I smug?"

"Don't ask bloody _Rose Granger-Weasley_ if she can get into Ravenclaw Tower. Of course she can! And stop," he gestured vaguely at Scorpius' face.

"Talking? Breathing?"

"Smiling! Smiling. What was I-? Oh yeah." He took a heavy step. "Don't smile at her all the time even when she's offending you to your face. You just look like a psycho."

"Oh." It wasn't every day your best mate said you look like a psycho to your face. "Well, I'll keep that in mind."

He did keep it in his mind. It nestled in his mind like a parasite and didn't fade for what felt like an eternity. Not for the day after, when Albus nursed a wonderful hungover and started to piece together the moments when he asked Lydia to both be his girlfriend and go to the ball. I didn't fade when he went to Slughorn's office the following evening and got some of the most exciting news of his life. It didn't fade at all for the next week or so. It haunted him every day. He even asked Alfie - who said he would make no comment - and contemplated asking Max and Joshua. The only thing that stopped him was the thought that they would never have shut up about it.

"So, do I really look all that smug?"

He decided it was best to just ask Albus.

"What now?" Albus gave him a confused look over the flutterby bush they were pruning in Herbology on a chilly Wednesday afternoon. "Oh. Oh, balls. Yeah, I'm sorry about that."

"Yeah, sure. Fine." It was not fine. "But just, was there any truth to it?"

Scorpius had only seen Albus look that awkward when he was reconfirming both his relationship status and Ball invitation with Lydia. It had been an awkward negative on the former but an enthusiastic positive for the latter. You win some, you lose some.

"I don't mean it so negatively. I just mean, she doesn't like it when you smile so much. So, maybe don't? If she says something rude to you, fight back. Y'know, that sort of thing."

Scorpius tossed a handful of limply flapping leaves to the side. "No. You're probably right. Besides, she's almost impossible. If that doesn't work, I'll just... I'll give up I guess."

The whole class turned to stare as Albus slammed his scissors onto the table with and unexpectedly loud, "No!"

"Um— Al?"

His voice dropped back to a low murmur. "Don't do it, mate." The class looked away again and the ripple of chatter grew back to normal levels. Albus opened his mouth to continue when the leaves next to him fluttered hard and slapped his hand.

" _Petrificus Totalus_! Take that you bastards."

"Don't take it out on the leaves, man. They're already dead."

Albus sighed, giving his head a good rub. "Okay so look, I know her better than pretty much anyone else. And I think you're so close to getting her to actually like you! Besides, I've been thinking about it," he shuffled awkwardly. "If my cousin is going to date anyone, I'd want it to be you."

His voice sounded like it had done six years ago on the Hogwarts Express. Shy, youthful vulnerability.

Scorpius grinned. "Thank you, Al."

There was a reason why they were best friends for so many years, after all.

Scorpius sighed. He and Albus were lying on their beds during a mutually free period, resting their weary brains. he shifted, crossing his legs. Then he uncrossed them. Then he shifted to his right side; then his left.

"The guilt's catching up with me."

"I know." Albus propped himself up on his elbows. "I just want to lie down and stare at the ceiling for and hour and forget that homework exists, but..."

"The guilt eats you, right?"

"I feel like a knob."

"Yeah." Scorpius sighed, reaching over to his stack of school books and picking his batter potions one off the top. "Me too, mate. Every time I try and think about Quidditch or remember one of those muggle stories Joshua told us my mind just wanders back to Heinrich's transfiguration essay."

Albus snorted. "Me too. Even Professor Bors is setting us essays now."

Scorpius clucked his tongue. "'shoulda done Defence."

Professor Bors was notoriously lax when it came to setting homework. She believed that it was better for the students to learn things in class, and practice outside.

"No mate. No way. Rhys Owens is in that class."

Scorpius chuckled. He and Rhys had never got along, not since they quite litterally bumped into each other on the Hogwarts Express, six years ago. Rhys was already wearing his older brother's Gryffendor scarf, Scorpius just oozed Slytherin - as much as he may hate it, even he knew that. Despite all that, they still wouldn't have been able to get on at all; he just really pissed Scorpius off. Everyone had that one person they hated for absoltely no reason.

He pulled his potions book open to a random page and a small rectangular sheet fell onto his face.

"Ow!" He yelped, shooting upright. "Little bugger!"

"What? What's wrong?" Albus called, jumping up with almost cat like speed and pulling his wand out.

"This picture fell out of my book!" He pulled it off his face, running a finger over where the corner had impaled itself on his cheek.

Albus gave him a blank look. "A fucking picture? You're joking. I thought some monster from the Lake had ended up in here."

"Sorry to disappoint."

"Hey- Wait. That's me!" Albus pointed to a younger version of himself, messy haired, small but with a grin large enough for his adult-sized face. "Why've you got this?"

Scorpius had forgotten about this, What with all the excitement of recent weeks. "Oh, yeah. I forgot about this." He looked up to see Albus' raised eyebrows. "Rose left it behind on the library table, I've just forgotten to give it back yet."

Albus shrugged. "Yeah, fine. That seems legitimate."

"What kind of gross weirdo stalker do you think I am?"

"You'd be surprised the amount of people who have photos of us all." Scorpius was reminded of Albus' fame in startling ways like this occasionally. It never got any less weird.

Albus continued to peer over his shoulder. "Oh yeah. That's got to be dad's thirty-seventh - yep, there's Roxanne and Fred with the gnomes."

"Gnomes?"

Albus laughed darkly, "You don't even want to know."

Scorpius tried not to think too deeply into that one. From what he knew of Harry Potter, he wasn't sure he would have appreciated whatever it was, anyway.

"Oh yeah. I forgot Teddy used to have red hair!"

"Teddy? Who's Teddy?"

Albus pointed to a tall boy standing next to Victoire with flame red hair. He could've been just another Weasley if you didn't notice his conspicuous lack of freckles and his shade just being a touch more ferociously red than the rest.

"He's Dad's godson. Does that make him my god cousin...? God-..."

"No," Scorpius answered. "How'd he end up in the picture then?"

"He's always round at ours. Dad helped raise him."

"What happened to his parents?"

"D'you hear of Lupin and Tonks? You know, the couple that died in the Battle of Hogwarts. Remus Lupin, the werewolf? Taught here once?"

Scorpius pulled a face. "Dumbledore hired a werewolf? No wonder numbers were down."

Albus rolled his eyes. "And we all thought you were the clever one. He was a _good_ werewolf."

"Alright."

"And- oh, forget it. It'd take too long to explain. Anyway, Nymphadora Tonks and Remus Lupin were Teddy's parents. Teddy's parents died so his gran and my dad raised him. There."

"Alright."

"Have you forgetten how to say any other words?"

"I just have nothing to add. I have no idea who any of these people are."

"Wait," Albus rubbed a hand over his forehead, "Andromeda Tonks? Know that name?"

"Oh." Scorpius nodded. The name rang an uncomfortable bell at the back of Scorpius' mind. He felt like he knew it somehow, it just wouldn't come to the forefront of his mind. And the feeling dripped in an uncomfortable chill down his spine.

"She was a Black or a something once. Apparently?" Albus winced in memory. "Something like that. Aunt of Sirius Black — Dad's godfather. She's on the family tree at home." He shrugged. "It's a proper weird place sometimes, I swear."

Scorpius snickered. He'd never been there, but it sounded odd from the stories he'd heard.

"Like I said, it was his Granny Andromeda who raised Teddy, so he didn't live with us until he was-"

"Hold on. Hold on a second. If that Andromela-"

"Andromeda"

"Yeah sure; that lady. And She was a Black, right? That'd make her my relative."

Albus' eyebrows raised slowly. "Yeah. I guess it does."

"Sirius Black was dad's cousin. First cousin or something. She could be... Gran had two sisters - one she never talked about and the one who died. Bellatrix was one, is Andromeda the other?"

"Yeah. Yeah, I think she is. She said she got disinherited when she married a muggle-born. Said she had one nephew but they'd never met."

Scorpius felt as though he'd swallowed a wriggling, writhing tentacle of the Giant Squid's. Faintly nauseus, as though he might puke at any second.

Real, living, breathing family. "Then... that Teddy's family. I've got some family." It was almost a whisper. The picture fell from between his clammy fingers and lay on the bed, faces all looking blankly at the ceiling. A choked bark of laughter pressed its way out of his leadden lungs. And another. "Al— I can't believe it! I've actually got someone!"

Albus grinned at him. "I know. I'm happy for you."

"I can't—!" Scorpius laughed, almost deliriously. "What does that even make him? Come on, you're the one who's good at working this stuff out." Scorpius gave Albus a light punch on the shoulder, his grin so wide it was straining his face.

Albus opened his mouth but didn't say anything. Instead, he thought in silence, the crease between his eyebrows deepening. "I'm actually pretty shit at this; it's Hugo who can work this stuff out, I guess I'll ask him later. But I think he's your second cousin...?"

Scorpius smiled again. "You know, I don't often spend a free period working out I have family."

Albus snorted. "We've got shared family, too. That's weird."

"Yeah, tell me about it."

The boys sat in a shared silence.

"D'you want me to give you his address?"

Scorpius thought about it. The thought wriggled unpleasently in his stomach. He knew nothing about his family - just a few names here, a few relatives he was banned from visiting in Azkaban there. To have someone to actually talk to aside from his father... What if there was something he didn't know? And what if it was all ruined before it even began? But at least if he had the address, he'd always have the possibility. "I guess so, yeah. That'd be nice." He turned to his friend and the grin returned. "Thanks, mate."

Albus brushed it off with a wave. "You have such a fucked up family."

Scorpius scoffed. "You absolutely know how to ruin a moment. Almost like it's magic."

"I am magic. _Magically_ _awkward_."

Scorpius raised an eyebrow, unimpressed. "Really?" He rolled his eyes. Albus had been in a far more humorous mood since drunkenly confessing his love for Lydia, but it didn't mean that the jokes were good.

"Yeah. That was fair." Albus admitted sheepishly.

Scorpius picked up the photograph from the bed again. He couldn't help the emotional furore inside him. There was the face of an actual, living blood relative of his. One of the few he had left...

And one he knew that his father must've known about. Yet Scorpius had never known that this Teddy Lupin even existed. He would never have, had Rose not left this photograph behind. He loved his father. He loved his father, but as he looked at the crowded photograph on the faded sheet of once-glossy paper, he felt betrayed. Most of the time, he could understand why his father did things. Usually, he could come up with a rationale for almost anything. But this; this he didn't understand. For the first time in his life, Scorpius Malfoy did not have the answer.

"You all looked happy, though."

Albus took the photograph from Scorpius and held it in front of his face again, squinting down at everyone. "Yeah. Yeah, we did." He sighed. "Fred taught the gnomes a rude version of Happy Birthday, and then Roxanne trained a bunch of them to jump out just as Dad was about to cut the cake."

Scorpius laughed at the very thought of what mayhem the two had caused - especially when they were younger. And there he was, with dumb peacocks for friends back home. A pang of jealousy clenched his stomach.

Albus tapped the picture as he put it back in Scorpius' hands. "You give it back to her, tomorrow, in class. She'll be grateful, I bet."

"Sure. My chivalrous act will stun her into silence, and she'll be suddenly clamouring to go out with me."

"No, you stupid git. She'll be happy to see you be so nice. People like nice people. As an added bonus, she'll see that she _can_ talk to you without becoming a social pariah."

"Oh. Right."

"I told you Scor, I'm actually on your side now."

Scorpius grinned at him. It was a testament to their friendship that Albus had finally come round to the idea of Scorpius doing his cousin.

—-

But the whirlwind of confusing emotions didn't go away for a long time. It didn't abate when he sat in the library the next morning, trying to drown out the thoughts that swirlled in his head like one of those muggle fairground rides in the picture books. It didn't go away even when he was receiving a 97 on his alchemy essay, or when he laughed with Jasmine in History of Magic over her muggle friend's fear of ghosts.

"Hey, Scorpius." Scorpius looked up from his History of Magic textbook one lunchtime later that week to see James Potter clambering over the bench across from him. Albus wasn't anywhere in sight. This was a first. And- and there was Hugo Granger-Weasley, too. Scorpius looked between the two in such confusion, he forgot to mark the page when he put down his book.

"Hello. Hi, Hugo." The two had never actually met formally before. This was weird. "What's up, James?"

"Well, we heard about Teddy." James slipped a bit of parchment across the table.

"It was a nice challenege for me. Usually it only takes me a moment to work out relations, but this one took me a nice, long time. Here."

Hugo pushed a scrappy bit of parchement littered with lines and names and symbols across the table.

At the top were two names Scorpius had never heard of - Druella and Cygnus Black. It was always nice to know you weren't the only weirdly named one in your family.

And from them came three names: Narcissa, who he knew, Bellatrix, who he'd heard of and then - there. Andromeda. Who was the mother of Tonks, and she was the mother of Teddy Lupin.

In a line almost parellel to that was his father and mother's names, joined by a tiny set of parallel dashes, and down a tiny, narrow line, was his name. Scrawled in hasty, loopy letters. He and Teddy sat on an equal line.

Teddy Lupin (b.1998). Scorpius Malfoy (b.2005)

There is was. His whole bloodline; the thing that cursed him from the day he was born, laid out in sloppy writing on a crumpled piece of parchment.

"You should see the one Hugo did at his house. Bloody massive. Anyway, we're always happy to accomadate one more on the mailing list."

"Teddy's the mail-order coordinator at Weasley's Wizard Wheezes. This is his address. If you write to him with your address, he'll add you to the family list. He picks names out of a hat and sends out new samples to whoever he choses." Hugo explained with a half-smile that made his eyes crinkle the same way Rose's did. His were blue, though.

Scorpius looked between the two of them in even more confusion than ever. "I— I uh..."

"Yeah, Al said you might be a bit like this. Just close your mouth, and write to him. He doesn't have any family left anymore, so I bet he'd be glad to hear from you. Besides, he's old now. Old people are nicer."

Scorpius broke from his dumbstruck silence to snort, "You clearly haven't met any of the portraits in my house."

James rubbed his chin ruefully, "that's true. Phinneas Nigellus is a right bastard. Always says tittish things about your mum."

"He's just jealous he only made it to Headmaster."

Scorpius spaced out again as the two discussed the apparently foul-tempered old man. He had a 22-year-old cousin of some description. There was someone out there in the world with some of the same blood as him. And he couldn't help but wondering, what was his life like? Did that same blood curse him? Did he have to live with a haunting reminder of a past he didn't know dogging him every day until he blocked it out entirely?

"Scorpius? Malfoy?"

"Hasn't he got a weird middle name?"

"Hyperion. They're stars, James. No wonder you flopped astronomy."

Scorpius closed his mouth, unaware it'd even been hanging open in the first place. "Yeah. I guess mum liked stars, or something."

Hugo raised his eyebrows. "Merlin, Rose was right."

Scorpius brushed it off, ignoring the soul-searching look Hugo was fixing him with and instead looking to James. "Thanks, I'll write to him soon."

"Do it. Oh, but don't mention your great-aunt. He's not a fan of any of that talk."

"What-?" Scorpous picked up the little diagram again and traced it back up to his great0aunts. Andromeda and Bellatrix. One of these two was dead - apparently Bellatrix. Sure, he knew she was said to be foul tempered, but what was so disasterously wrong with her?

"Anyway, we're off." James nodded and Hugo stopped his soul-searching look for a surprisingly warm smile. He looked alarmingly like his dad in that moment.

And then that winded feeling of his lungs being crushed came back. "I— thanks. Really." Scorpius couldn't get many words out.

James gave him that cocky grin, messing up his hair. "No problem. Oh, and prefects rounds are changing from next week. You're on with Rosie." He winked at Scorpius as he got up to leave.

"Just be nice to her. That's literally all you have to do." Hugo added as he followed James back over to the other side of the hall.

"What- but— how?"

"I'm a Ravenclaw," he pointed to the blue crest on his robes, "it's kind of my thing to be observant."

Scorpius was left stunned in their wake. It did not abate all day. And by Transfiguration, he was finally coming back down to earth.

He had his (second) cousin's address!

So maybe he wasn't completely back to Earth. Rose seemed to notice it.

"I heard about you and Teddy. Hugo told me."

"Oh." Scorpius beamed without meaning to. "Yeah, I still can't believe it." He turned Theia's tail into feathers by accident. They were supposed to be vanishing tails today - although Scorpius still didn't really understand the practical application of this particular spell. Or who came up with it. Or why.

"No. Me neither." She muttered under her breath.

Scorpius ignored it. "I'll write to him."

"Oh?"

"Yeah. I guess I'll just explain who the hell I am."

"Existential questions on the first letter? Remind me to never be your pen-pal."

He could only tell by the corners of her mouth tugging upwards that she was really joking.

"Well, you know. Existential questions in the first letter, philosophical thoughts on the second and then deep psychological issues on the third. I wonder why no one's ever written back after that?"

Rose muffled a giggle, which she morphed into a cough. Professor Henrich gave Scorpius a stern glare with eagle eyes. "What's the fourth?"

Scorpius thought quickly. He didn't know where these thoughts were coming from. He had no control; like falling feet first down an icy mountainside. But something seemed to be going right, and whatever in Merlin's name that was he'd try to keep it up. "Oh well, that's when I get deep into daddy-issue territory."

She laughed. And it didn't turn into a cough this time. It was hidden by the bubbling chatter from Paige and Isabelle on the desk next to them, but Scorpius still watched in wonder as he finally, after years of trying, made Rose Weasley laugh in the presence of others. And not by accident this time, either. When she laughed, he noticed, her eyes almost closed, like a little half-moon.

"Wow, Malfoy. Sounds intense."

"That's me."

They settled back into quiet but this time, it wasn't awkward. It actually felt amicable. Silence out of choice; not something shoved over them like a thick layer of coagulating dust.

She even helped him to check his wand technique when he turned Theia's tail bright blue and the cat looked over her shoulder moodily, fixing the pair with a grumpy stare.

"It's the Hogsmede trip on Saturday. Are you coming?"

Like he'd forget. The boys were still fully committed to 'The Rose Plan' (even if they insisted on still calling it that), and everything looked to be in place for that weekend. Hopefully.

Step one: play it cool. Something Scorpius didn't know how to do.

"Uh -oh- me? Well," and he paused for dramatic effect, as though he were thinking of his plans then and there. He was certain it was very unconvincing. "Yeah, I guess. I mean, I haven't put much thought into it. Naoki's pretty strict with training, and I've got quite a lot of homework to do..." Rose raised her eyebrows as he went on and on. "But yeah I mean I guess I'm going." He rubbed the back of his neck, looking anywhere but Rose. Joshua had assured him it was cool to look noncommittal. He'd said it'd make him look less desperate than he actually was. "What about you?"

"Oh, me? Yeah, of course. The girls and I are going to The Three Broomsticks, maybe meet up with some Gryffindor and Ravenclaws, go to Honeydukes and see if Marple Maddness has any new clothes in. You know. The usual."

"I do know. All the usual." Scorpius had never felt so awkward in his life.

"So if, on that chance, you do end up going, will you be heading to The Three Broomsticks?"

"Oh. Yeah. I suppose so."

Rose nodded her head, watching him. "Right." She turned her body back to face Professor Henrich. He wondered when she'd started sitting almost completely facing him.

"Cool."

He wasn't even listening to what happened around him. Frankly, he didn't care. He was just watching her and lost in wondering when his life started going so right. Whether it was magic, that 'karma' thing, or just plain luck, he didn't care. Things were going awesomely and that's all he needed to know.

"Malfoy, get up." Rose hissed at him suddenly. He pulled himself to his feet hastily as the students began to clear out for lunch, and the pair gathered their things.

They were almost out the door when Scorpius remembered - the photograph! It was still wedged in his potion book. He wondered if she even realised she'd lost it, or if he had it at all by now.

"Rose - wait!" She and a bunch of other students she was going over to turned to face him. He slid the photograph from between the pages of his potions book. "Here, I found it on a library table the other day," he knew she wouldn't thank him for telling all the people listening that they'd actually _talked of their own, free will_ before now, "Al reckons it's yours." Alfie winked at him from the back of the pack of sixth years who were all way too interested in watching what was about to go down and gave him a thumbs up before heading off to lunch. Probably to catch up with Max or Joshua; who knew with that boy. He seemed to be stressed or something recently, but he could tell Scorpius it was due to a distressing convergence of Mars with Venus and he'd believe him.

Rose stepped forward, with a delicate frown on her brow. Maybe it was just the moment; perhaps it was that the light had just come through the clouds outside and it was hitting her in all the best ways, he didn't know. But he seemed to hold his breath for a moment as she came over to him and took the photo from his hand.

"Yes. I thought I lost this week's ago." She said in not much louder than a breath, and Scorpius let out the all the breath he'd unconciously been holding as she looked up at him and the light faded. But there was a warmth in her eyes as she smiled at him that he couldn't pin on the sunlight or the library candles this time. Shining in her beautiful brown eyes, there was an actual, real warmth that came from within. "Thank you," she said, just low enough for only the two of them to hear, "Scorpius."

—-

"She used my _name_!" He declared to the empty room.

"She did?" Well, he thought it was empty. Albus popped up from the pile of sheets stuffed over him, his voice very slightly stuffy. Scorpius took three steps backwards; he was _not_ going to get ill, not now.

"Yeah." The grin that had slid off his face came back with a vengeance. "She smiled at me, and not because she'd just beaten me in a test of tricked me or beaten us at quidditch or anything!"

"Bloody hell Scor, you made it sound like you got past multiple bases with her. Ow!"

He rubbed his head as he threw the pillow back to Scorpius.

"You done, anyway? I was studying."

"You sound ill."

" _Studying_."

"Studying how ill you are?"

Albus sighed heavily. "I'm going to train Theia to murder you in your sleep."

Scorpius grinned, swapped out the books he'd been carrying for lessons for the ones he planned to study from this evening before heading down for food. "But more importantly, she used my _name_. Actual first name. Scorpius as in Scorpions. Scorpius as in what the hell were my parents thinking."

"Yeah, I wonder that a lot - what _were_ they thinking?"

"And there were people there too!"

Albus coughed. "So," another cough, "you're making progress?"

"Yeah!" Scorpius was smiling so widely you could've fit a wand in his mouth. "I mean, she's been pretty nice to me recently, and we're on rounds together now."

Albus finally finished dragging himself out of bed. "I'm glad. It's been a long time coming. Rosie's lovely when she's not being a total bitch, too."

Scorpius laughed. "And to answer your earlier question - my parents were thinking of stars or something. Or they just looked in a Latin then a Greek dictionary."

Albus shrugged. "Who am I to argue? 'm named after two headmasters, aren't I?" He finished tying up his shoelaces, sniffing as he did. Scorpius levitated a tissue in front of his friend's face, cringing a little bit. He had a tendency towards hypochondria.

"Are you coming for food?"

Albus finally stood before Scorpius and nodded. Now that was one very ill looking Potter - and he'd seen James after he and his friends had got into the house Elves' Fire Whiskey supply. "Why not? I'm starving."

As was almost inevitable, the conversation was again about the ball. This time, it was Joshua dragging out the conversation.

"I really don't know who's invitation to accept."

"Stop making it sound like they hand wrote you poncey invitations."

"Or that they don't have feelings."

Albus and Scorpius took their places on either side of the Slytherin bench, and Albus went immediately to the jug of Pumpkin Juice, eschewing the food with a tremulous look.

"What's Joshua deciding this time?"

"Only which of the tens of invitations he's going to accept."

Albus made a snort, which turned into a choke, and then a pitiful coughing fit. A few Ravenclaws from their table even looked over.

"I swear Al, if you make me all ill and horrible to look at, I'll make sure you stay as far away from the girls you always have done."

Max smiled sweetly - well, as sweetly as he could - while thumping Albus on the back. Albus did not look pleased.

"A-Anyway," Joshua continued, looking ever so slightly disgusted at the phlegmmy pile that was Albus, and shuffling slightly further away from him. "I was thinking about all the girls-"

"Who are they, exactly?" Scorpius asked, shovelling a helping of mashed potato onto his fork.

"Let's see, there was Lavender Patil, Matilda Parker, that other girl from Ravenclaw, Ruby Taylor, even that first year - what was her name?"

"Carmel Jones."

"Oh yeah." Joshua rubbed his chin ruefully. "There was Ava Smith-"

"Absolutely could not care less, Joshua. Thought you had a girl in mind, anyway." Albus interrupted him.

Joshua scowled, and carried on eating.

"Yeah, And it seems like she was the only girl who hasn't asked him so far." Max prodded further, and Joshua simply stuck two fingers up as a reply.

Max now turned to face Alfie. "Dear Alfie, according to reports _you_ are going with Sabrina Gregg."

"Why as a matter of fact, I am."

He replied so coolly that it didn't even click with Scorpius for a while.

"Wait a minute... you're going with your ex— why?"

Alfie shrugged. "I still like her." He was trying hard not to make eye contact, staring down at the potatoes on his plate.

Joshua rose from his fury just long enough to giggle at Alfie. "Someone wants to get lucky."

Alfie rolled his eyes. "We aren't all like you."

Joshua went back to his fury.

The rest of the meal passed in near silence after that, accompanied harmoniously by the disgusting sounds of Albus' illness.

Scorpius left the four of them quickly to go and study in the library. Alfie had informed him that he really did miss out on being set an essay at the end of Transfiguration, and he should probably get started on that.

Who said sixth year wasn't fun?

* * *

 _So, how do you think it's all going to go down in Hogsmeade? Do you think it'll all go to plan, or is a spanner going to get flung into Scorpius' life again? Let me know what you think!_

 _Please review if you've got time and follow for more. Thanks!_


	13. The Three Broomsticks

**_Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter._**

 _Hello! I'm less over-loaded with work this week, so yay, back on track posting times! So, I realised that I've been forgetting to add in the long divider lines sometimes, and please forgive me for my stupid-blondness. It kicks in sometimes, what can I say?_

 _Thank you to **Guest** (thank you! Squeal away on the train to your heart's content!), **catwomannnnnn1** , **AMBERJANUS** , **MLMarint** , **BellaStoria** , and **Guest** for your reviews this week! Honestly, I feel like it comes across as slight disingenuous since I say it every week, but I really can't say how much I absolutely adore getting all your reviews - thank you so, so much!_

 _Enjoy!_

* * *

 _Chapter 13: The Three Broomsticks_

That weekend, Scorpius awoke to a suspiciously noisy room. Albus was sniffling in his bed.

"Al?"

"Yeah?" A hoarse voice whispered back at him."

"Are you okay?"

"No. I'm dead. I was resurrected during the night and now I finally know what it's like to be an inferi."

Scorpius paused, and the room went briefly silent. "Nice."

"Tell me this - why don't we have magic to cure colds?"

Scorpius thought for a moment. "Because magic laws or something. I don't know. Ask Grace Hall, she knows about healing magic."

"Grace Hall?"

"Yeah. Hufflepuff, our year. Ginger, long hair, a bunch of freckles."

"No?"

"Gossips a lot."

"Oh, yeah. Her."

"Please bugger off with your mother's meeting." Max moaned at them, throwing his pillow wildly behind his back. It landed with a muffled plop just yards from the foot of his bed.

"Ah! I'm so hurt! Oh, the pain!" Scorpius cried out in mock agony, and Max just mumbled more insults in retaliation.

Scorpius left the room as it faded back to almost silence. It was still dark outside - you could tell when the sun rose enough to shine over the highland hills by how the water in the Great Lake looked. If it was lighter and greener, you knew it was sunny outside. But if it was darker and the water was swirling tempestuously? The weather was terrible, and you should probably try and take the indoor route rather than the cross-courtyard shortcuts. And this, in turn, almost always meant that Joshua was even later to class than usual, and Max was in a bad mood if he had Care of Magical Creatures. Today, the water was a still, ambivolous, murky pool. Not bad, for an October day in Scotland.

Scorpius washed and dressed for the day quickly, donning his muggle clothes, and returned to their dorm.

Alfie was now awake, and Joshua was stretching in bed. But Max was still firmly asleep.

"Should we attempt to wake him up?" Alfie offered, watching the sleeping boy carefully.

"Depends. How badly do you want to get hit?" Joshua replied, and Alfie chuckled. There really was no point in arguing with that one.

Albus sat upright, levitating his pile of tissues into the bin. "I'll just go and cough over him. No quicker way to wake him up than that."

Scorpius laughed to himself. If there was one other person he knew that came close to Scorpius in taking every measure to stave off illness, it was Max. Once, when Scorpius, Alfie and Joshua had been simultaneously ill, he'd slept in the other Slytherin boy's room instead. Their yearmates hadn't been so pleased about having Max sleeping on their floor, especially when it came time to wake him in the morning.

"Hey, Max." Albus coughed loudly for effect. "I'm really, really sick right now. I might actually be the most contagious you've ever seen anyone."

Albus did sound like living death. Pausing every few words for a tremendous sniff; voice utterly nasal and a white pallor on his skin.

"Oh fuck off mate." Max mumbled, shooting upright and almost scuttling into Alfie's lap.

"Steady on there."

"I'd rather sit on your lap than get ill from that twat."

"Come on mate, I'm not that terrible."

"Fuck off, Potter." Max growled and leaned even closer to Alfie, who retreated back into his bed and under the toasty covers as soon as Max got off.

"Alright lads, that's enough." Joshua rolled his eyes at them and left the room, the door closing with a loud thud behind him.

"What's got his hippogriff?"

"That girl, I bet."

"It's the only time he's ever been turned down, isn't it?" Scorpius rested his head on his hand. "At least, as far as I know."

"Got turned down in third year a couple of times — fuck off Albus, really."

Albus finally relented and went back to his bed, pulling on his muggle clothes as he pulled faces at Max.

"Who turned him down?"

"That French girl from Ravenclaw."

"Oh!" Scorpius actually knew who it was for once. "Amelie Bennet, right?"

"Yeah, that's the one." Max nodded, also getting changed. Alfie watched the scene passively. Of course he knew something and wasn't telling them all; sometimes Scorpius felt like that was Alfie's job.

"She's in Potions, isn't she? Sits with Lucy, doesn't talk much?" Albus asked, voice muffled from behind his jumper.

"She's just a bit standoffish."

"You mean, she's a bit _French_." Max intoned.

Scorpius bit his lip, and just knew that Albus was rolling his eyes behind the neck of his jumper.

"Right." Alfie said uncertainly.

The door opened, and Joshua marched back in looking washed, dressed, and utterly sullen.

"Morning." Max greeted uncertainly.

Joshua nodded. The two shared a significant look, and neither said a word more.

* * *

"So, it's finally here."

Sheepishly, Scorpius looked up at a maniacally grinning Max. That grin rarely brought good news. "What... is?"

"The Hogsmeade weekend; only the biggest social event so far!"

"Oh, you sound like a Beverly Hills girl. _Honestly_." Joshua rolled his eyes, getting up to retrieve the pumpkin juice jug.

"Beverly Hills—?"

"Famous place stereotypically full of vapid girls — continue." Alfie answered concisely. Sometimes Scorpius wondered precisely where he got all this knowledge from.

"The point is - this is phase one of the Rose Plan!" Max' grin widened again. This was definitely not a good thing. Max being excited over a plan usually meant that things were about to crank up to twelve, and not gently. It did have the promise of entertainment value, though, which was exactly why they were friends with Max. Unfortunately, it might not end well for Scorpius.

"You feeling strong enough to do this, Al?" Scorpius turned to his very pale looking friend next to him.

He gave him a distant smile and weak thumbs up. "You're doing way better than any of us thought - why would I not want to sit and watch you finally get the girl?"

Scorpius smiled at his friend. "Thank you, Al."

Albus just nodded back.

"Al does make a good point; you're doing way, way better than any of us thought. This should be easy."

"And what dastardly plan have you cooked up?" Scorpius asked before draining the last of his pumpkin juice.

"Actually, you can thank Alfie for the bulk of this one." Alfie gave a mock salute right on cue.

"Astronomy's been kind of slow lately, I've had the time to think about it."

"Thanks."

"So we were thinking we send out our favourite Potter, Mr Warmed-Up-Vampyre here, to go and find Lydia."

"No pr—o-blems with that p-a—rt." Albus coughed his way through the sentence.

Max cringed at Albus, hurrying to cover it up by stuffing more toast into his mouth.

"You ask Lydia if she knows what time they're heading to The Three Broomsticks. She'll know. Then we just turn up at that time and prize the rest of the group away." Alfie finished, making it all sound oh-so-easy.

"How're you planning on managing that?"

"So I was thinking of saying that I saw a ghost outside the shrieking shack."

Joshua snorted at this, and they ignored it.

"I did hear that the ghost of Peter Pettigrew's been sighted there in the recent past."

"Yeah, and we _all_ want to see that knob's ghost."

Scorpius shrugged. "Fair point. Then, there's the ghost of Lady Hartnell and Lord Cartwright."

"Who?"

"They were the first duelers in Hogsmeade. Both died at the same time, no points for guessing how. They've never been spotted as ghosts, but no one needs to know that."

Alfie and Max looked at each other. "Could work. Or we could just say 'ghosts'."

"Probably better to just say ghosts."

"Then you slip in next to her and try to be a lot cooler than you usually are. I don't know, maybe look out for a shooting star to wish on. We'll deal with the people for an hour or so, and then hopefully you two will have had enough time for you to ask her out somewhere."

"Where?"

"Literally anywhere." Max deadpanned. "The tower, Hagrid's place, the Great Lake, the next Hogsmeade weekend - just anywhere."

Scorpius sighed. "Okay, okay. I'll try my best."

"You'd better, or this all would've been for nothing."

They all turned to look at Joshua.

"You know, you can just _tell_ us what's wrong. That is a thing that friends do."

Joshua frowned, jaw clenching. "No it's just - I don't get turned down. I can fix this by myself!" He declared with such forced determination he could've popped a vein in his temple.

"Alright. If you say so." Scorpius sighed. He'd learnt from very messy experience that it was best to just leave Joshua to his stewing until he approached you for help. Otherwise, it'd been like third year all over again where he and Albus had an hour-long shouting match and wouldn't talk for three whole days - which felt like a lot longer back then.

"Hey Scor, didn't you win Luck Potion at the beginning of the year?" Max asked suddenly, breaking the lull.

"Yeah. Want some?"

"You're offering it for free?! No. Well, I could do with some, but no."

"Oh, I don't like where this is going." Alfie mumbled, and Scorpius saw him cringing before he ran a hand over his face.

"I'm just saying! Have a little sip or two, and you might not actually trip over the thin air."

"You have a point there."

"Come on, Alfie! It's not like he's drugging her with Amortentia!" Max pleaded, and Alfie's cringe only faded minutely.

"It still feels a bit manipulative."

Albus stopped his coughing for long enough to say, "it's a bit creepy, but it's not like you're trying to get into her knickers with it."

"I mean, the use of a lot of potions when it comes to other people can be pretty unethical." With a heaved sigh, he ceeded. "I'll give this one a pass. As long as you _do not_ take advantage of her in any way, shape or form." He was sterner than Scorpius had seen him look in a while.

"'Course. You know how I feel about her." He couldn't bring himself to meet any of their eyes, and none of them gave a sarcastic comment.

"Well then, that's settled. Al, question Lydia for details. Take a few sips of lucky potions just before going into the three broomsticks Scorpius, and then we get the rest of them to bugger off. After that, our friend Felix can do most of the work, and you just try not to fuck it all up, alright pal?" Max grinned cockily, and Scorpius offed sharply.

"Yes, Sir!"

"Let's get on with it then." Joshua declared, standing and leading the way out of the hall before any of the others were barely out of their seats.

"Oh, and Scor, if you could somehow magically fix his issues with a drop or two of that lucky potion, we'd be eternally grateful."

* * *

Potion tucked away carefully in his pocket, the boys trooped down the frosty tracks to Hogsmeade town and were milling about Weasley's Wizard Wheezes by late morning. Scorpius and Albus had taken one look at the chilly grey sky and decided that it was already cold enough to light the fires in their little jars, which they then used to warm their hands through the gloves. The pair of them and Alfie had worked on them together in fourth year, but they'd only really become a perfected art when Max had stepped in to help. He was surprisingly an artistic one, but he'd only ever admit that he liked drawing if you really needled him about it.

"Hey Al - why do you even like coming here?"

"Because it's a good shop...?" The Potter answered Max, confusion pulling at his features.

"No, but I mean, why _this_ one? We've never been to the one in Diagon Alley."

"Oh, yeah." Albus shrugged. "I've got uncles hanging about in that one, haven't I? There's just random people in here."

Max was interrupted from putting his foot in it as the bell tinkled at the door and a group of second or third years trawled in. The girls amongst them spotted the five of them and giggled.

"I've got a letter to post." Alfie declared with a loud, uncomfortable voice, and they all filed out of the shop.

"I appreciate what you've done for my sanity, Scorpius, but do you think you could just be a little less like the Golden Child so we could go back to being normal?" Albus sniffled.

"And what exactly would that be? Being ignored, harassed, a mixture of the two, or neither?"

Albus snorted, which turned into a choke, which turned into a coughing fit. Alfie stood over him as he doubled over, patting his back. "You okay there, Al?"

Albus gave a weak thumbs up in response.

"Did you actually want to go to the post office, Alfie?"

"Huh? Oh," he dug a letter out of his pocket, "thought I'd let my parents know I'm still alive and well, etcetera."

"You mean you haven't sent them a letter yet?" Scorpius asked, with Max equally as aghast next to him.

Alfie merely shrugged. "I'm the youngest of _seven_. They know what the deal is by now."

Just as they began to cross the road to the owl office, Joshua seemed to come alive for the first time in hours. "Oh — I've got to do something. I'll see you later!" And without so much of an explanation he darted off across the road, and then was lost in the crowds.

"Are we all absolutely certain he hasn't gone nuts?"

Scorpius shrugged at Albus.

"He'll be fine." Alfie watched after where he'd disappeared, that look of utter calm and knowingness on his face. "Come on, owl post and then we'll send Al off on his quest."

"Oh bollocks, yeah. Forgot about that."

"How could you forget Scorpius' mission to get into your cousin's knickers?" Max said just loud enough for Scorpius and Albus to pick up. Albus grimaced, and no one could quite tell if the shiver down his spine was from the his repulsion or his illness.

Alfie, efficient as ever, was done in record timing and so the four set off down the street on the lookout for Lydia.

"Can't be hard to find them. There's always about twenty of them floating about."

Max wasn't wrong. They spotted Lydia, and Rose and a mixture of a few other six and seventh years hanging out near the path to the Shrieking Shack.

"Who voluntarily comes here? It's _haunted_." Albus shook his head in amazement.

"And you wonder why you're not a Gryffindor." Albus have Max a nasty glare.

"I _will_ cough next to you and I _will_ make you ill."

Max raised his arms in surrender.

"Give us a few minutes to scarper, then go and find out the details from Lydia. We'll be waiting in Honeydukes." Alfie clapped Albus on the shoulder.

"Oh, and try not to die. Or combust."

"That's rich coming from you."

Scorpius grinned at Albus. "I know."

Albus shook his head and then mined for them to leave. They spotted Albus crouching behind the thick line of trees for a few minutes before straightening up, doubling over as he coughed for way too long to be remotely healthy, and then walked out of sight.

"He's a mess," Max remarked, "but I hope he does okay."

"Yeah. Those two could've been made for each other." Alfie remarked wistfully. "Besides, wizards statistically marry school mates 68% of the time."

"What— really?" Scorpius asked, brows raised.

Alfie nodded as they continued the traipse back up the now extremely middle path to Honeydukes. "Yep. Not like there are many witches and wizards who live in this country and don't got to Hogwarts nowadays, anyway."

"Sure, but 68%?!"

"Well look at it this way. Where did your parents meet?"

Max thought for a moment. "I think they said Hogwarts."

"Scorpius?"

He shrugged. "Sort of Hogwarts, sort of an arranged marriage deal."

"Oh yeah, forgot about your weird-incest-pure-blood family." Max cringed. "No offence."

"None taken."

"And my parents met at Hogwarts, too. So that makes it three-for-three between us alone."

"Al's parents met at Hogwarts, too." Max added.

"And Rose's parents."

"So did Sabrina, Mia and Lydia's parents." Alfie added. To Max' inquiring look he merely said, "unlike you two, I am actually able to have friendships with women."

Scorpius and Max rolled their eyes almost simultaneously. The warm air of Honeydukes hit them like a blanket as soon as the door opened, and the chocolatey smell beckoned them in.

"Weird though, isn't it?"

"What?"

"That probably two of us are going to marry someone we already know." Max declared, inspecting a jar of cockroach clusters unenthusiastically. "I don't even want to think about that sort of thing yet. I can barely work out what I'm going to be doing tomorrow, never mind years in the future."

"Or hold down a girlfriend for more than three days." Scorpius added with a grin. "It is weird though. My parents got married at eighteen. We're eighteen in less than two years."

"Times were different then, though." Alfie pointed out. "There's less pressure on us to stay alive and stuff."

"That's true." Scorpius acknowledges, picking a few peppermint imps out of the large jar in front of him. "Can we please think about something different? This is both depressing and weird."

"Agreed." Max added hurriedly. "Hey, d'you want to hear about how Rhys Owens fell into a pile of dragon dung the other day?"

Max entertained them with a probably vastly exaggerated version of how Rhys Owens lost balance and fell face first into a pile of dragon dung, as they mosied around the shop until a distinct harmony of coughing and the shop bell told them that Albus had arrived.

"Hi." He greeted weakly. Lydia Griffiths was at his side, looking extremely concerned about him.

"Merlin. Al, you look awful. Want some help back to the castle?" Scorpius offered, stepping closer to examine his extremely sick looking friend.

"It's okay, I'm doing that. But he said he wanted to tell you something before we left." Lydia explained as Albus collapsed into coughs again.

"2 pm — The Three Broom— sticks-" Albus managed to wheeze out.

Scorpius nodded. "Alright. Thanks, mate." Scorpius put a hand on the stooped over Potter's back, and felt his whole rib cage seem to vibrate with the weight of his coughs. "Lydia, would you take him to the hospital wing, please? He looks shocking." Lydia nodded and began ushering him out of the shop. The staff behind the counter watched him leave reproachfully, and were glad to see his germy-mess finally near the door.

"Take care, Al." Max called behind him.

"We'll come and visit you in the hospital wing this afternoon." Alfie added.

"Merlin's left bollock. I haven't seen someone that I'll for a while." Scorpius said once the door had jingled shut to signal Albus' departure.

"I know. I hope he doesn't die. I quite like him." Max declared.

Alfie and Scorpius both turned to look at him. Max never showed an ounce of affection towards his friends if he could help it. He shrugged. "What? I do. This may rock your world, but I'm actually a bit fond of my friends."

* * *

By one o'clock, Scorpius was a somewhat composed mess. By one-thirty, he was jittery. By two o'clock, he was asking Max and Alfie every second if they could go in yet.

"If we go in at two on the dot, you're going to look like as big a stalker as you actually are."

So with a firm talking down by Max, Scorpius finally agreed to mill around the bookshop for another twenty minutes or so.

"I'm not sure I've ever been in a bookshop this long." Max remarked.

Alfie stared at him. "Perhaps it might make a nice change of pace."

"Yeah, maybe." He gave Alfie a charismatic grin and clapped the taller boy on he shoulder. "Maybe when I'm rounding forty."

Scorpius listened to the two talk, to nervous to add anything note-worthy.

"You're really never interested in settling down?"

"Are we back on this? Again?"

"No. I meant settling down as in _calming_ down. One girl a week instead of two."

"I haven't done that since fourth year, to be fair."

"Seriously, though. What do you even want to do?"

Max shrugged and put down the folklore book he'd been browsing - mostly for the pictures by the way he kept on stopping at the brightly illustrated pages. "Come on, Scorpius. Let's put you out of your misery.

Alfie watch him go without a look back, and didn't meet Scorpius' eye as he walked past.

"It's a shame we don't have Josh here; he's the best at this kind of pep talk." Max smirked at Alfie and Scorpius' silent responses. "There's a reason we've been friends so long."

"Are you going to pep-talk me instead...?" Scorpius asked uncertainly.

"'Course. Now, just take your potion and try not to become the Panicky Scorpius we all know and hate."

"I don't hate Panicky Scorpius." Alfie volunteered.

"Unhelpful, Alfie. Nice, but completely off message right now. Look, Scor. Just try to relax and be yourself. She seems to like you well enough when you do finally relax so just be like that and if she turns you down,-"

"Yeah, I know. I'll leave her alone." Scorpius gave a shrug that was far lighter than the weight that suddenly seemed to sink right through his stomach to his toes.

"Go on. Take your potion, then."

Scorpius reached into his pocket and pulled out the tiny, ornate glass vial that he'd been storing in a rolled up old sock. He uncorked it and eyed the potion, now honey-blonde, now almost translucent and shimmering with golden flecks. It was by far one of the most beautiful potions he'd ever seen. Even the smell was pleasant; wafts of honeycomb came to him and seemed to give his stomach a nice lining. He felt pleasantly full, but who knew on what.

"Scorpius, you probably should take it now if you want it to kick in on time." Alfie and Max were watching Scorpius curiously, as though he were about to do something very, very strange.

Scorpius nodded. One generous sip, he'd reckoned. One generous sip should last him three hours. And if he couldn't at least hold a normal conversation with her in that time... he'd have to acknowledge that there was just no hope. "Alright." He put the tiny vial to his lips and took one sip.

The reaction was immediate. A warmth that had nothing to do with the bright sun spread all over him, travelling all over his very skin like fire. It felt like there was a roaring flame in his stomach. The contented kind of flame that simmered away in the fireplace at home, warming your toes all winter long. A dazed smile spread over his face unconciously. Alfie and Max gave each other a concerned look.

"Right! Let's go." Scorpius grinned, rubbing his hands together. Max and Alfie raised their eyebrows in unison. "Oh, and you need to tell them Hagrid told you the unicorn foals were starting to walk."

"But-what— why?"

"I don't know. You just should." Scorpius couldn't have told you where that thought came from or even how it came about, but somewhere in his heart he just _knew_ / it was right. Like a more assertive and correct voice of consciousness had suddenly sprung up at the back of his mind. It made him smile like nothing had in a long time.

"Scorpius, chill out—!" Max urged as Scorpius pushed the door to the Three Broomsticks open. But Scorpius ignored him; he had a feeling that what he was doing was exactly right.

"Oh, hello Isabelle!"

Isabelle Moore just happened to be at the end of the bar nearest the entrance. She also just happened to be both a friend of Scorpius', and with Rose and her friends.

Isabelle turned around with round, surprised eyes. "Oh, Scorpius! Alfie, and... Max?"

Max held out a hand to her. She shook it reluctantly, eyeing him wearily.

"How're you doing? What're you doing in here?"

"Oh, well," he cast around for a reason. Usually he'd be desperately reaching for something which would innevitably come out sounding stupid. But somehow, he had the perfect excuse come to him within seconds. "Albus went back up to the castle, sick. He had to send a few letters so we've only just finished doing everything we needed to and we decided to come here since it's emptier now, anyway." He could almost feel Alfie and Max's eyes boring an astonished hole into the back of his head. "How about you? You here with people?"

She pointed to a group of perhaps six or seven people near the back of the pub, "there were more of us, but some wanted to go and check out the shrieking shack."

"Not one for horror?"

Isabelle laughed. "Come on, Scorpius. We both know it's not really haunted." She nudged him conspiratorially. Two years ago, they'd been set a project on the Shrieking Shack together. It'd been utterly dull, but they had become much better friends as a result. Well, it might've been described better as 'acquintances' at the time.

"They're going to be so disappointed when all they find is some ripped wallpaper and a few broken chairs."

"My thoughts exactly." She smiled. "Why don't you join us? Alfie, Max, you too."

Scorpius was nodding without even checking with the others. "Of course!" The four of them made their way to the back of the bar.

Scorpius could start to make out who it was as they got closer. Of course there was Rose, Jasmine Taylor-Thomas and Lola Travers - although Paige Finnegan was conspicuously missing. There was Evie Lee from Ravenclaw who Scorpius vaguely remembered Max wanted to go out with for a while last year, and Grace Hill the Hufflepuff with another Hufflepuff he didn't know next to her.

"Scorpius! Alfie, and Max. Come, sit with us."

"Sure." Scorpius nodded at the other two. He just knew that this was the way to go. They nestled into the semi-circular booth with the other girls, taking off their coats and scarves.

"I'm Matilda. Matilda Parker." The unknown Hufflepuff said to Scorpius. "I'm in Care of Magical Creatures with Max." She eyed Max wearily over the brim of her glass. Max just smiled innocently. He was lucky he was good-looking.

"That's me." Max saluted.

"Say, did Hagrid say anything about the unicorn foals when you went to see him last?" She asked Max.

Max and Scorpius met eyes. Scorpius nodded almost imperceptibly.

"Well, they're starting to walk and shed their golden fur."

Grace Hill made a squeeing sound of delight, and Isabelle and Jasmine stopped their subdued conversation to listen intently.

"Seriously? Because I went yesterday and they didn't look that near..." Evie Lee frowned, pushing her drained mug of butterbeer aside.

"Really. I went with him." Alfie added in an earnest tone.

"Let's go! Let's go and see them!" Grace and Matilda cried, almost in unison.

"Jas? Isabelle?" Evie asked, and the two girls nodded.

In a flurry of scarves being thrown on and coats wrenched back on, Scorpius leant over to Rose.

"Hey, mind if I have a word?"

Rose looked at him suspiciously.

"Alright. Girls, I'll be right behind you." She nodded, and the other girls said hurried goodbyes before dashing out with Alfie and Max. Max looked like a Cat who's just found a mouse colony. Alfie turned back at the door to give Scorpius a thumbs up. Scorpius returned it with a smile, before Rose shuffling closer won his undiluted attention.

"So?"

"Oh- yeah. I wanted a word." He said, more to himself than to her.

She frowned. "Are you just winding me up, Scorpius?"

She must've seen his eyes dilated and his heart stop for a second because she leaned ever so slightly closer. "Scorpius?" She wasn't talking very loudly - he doubted anyone even heard her say it - but it meant the world to him.

"O-Oh yeah." _Now_ he started to panic. He'd thought for a long time how to get her alone, he'd just never thought about what to actually say to her. But somehow that calm, confident voice in his head steered him in a sensible direction again. "I wanted to say that I was really impressed with your transfiguration project last week."

Her eyes widened. "Oh." Her face flitted between proud and confused and her cheeks flushed a little either from the warmth in here or pride. "Thank you. Is that really all you wanted to say?"

"No. I wanted to ask you about it, really. How're you so good at transfiguration, anyway? Do you want to go into the field?"

Rose was still looking at him suspiciously as she picked up Her butterbeer and took a sip. "Well, I'm not sure yet." She seemed to relax into herself a bit. "Ideally I'd like to work in the Ministry in some research capacity, although obviously life will be harder since I'll really have to prove my worth to avoid it looking like nepotism."

"Don't say that. Everyone at school knows you're the brightest witch of your age."

Rose actually did flush with happiness this time. Her mouth curved in a badly restrained smile, and she fiddled with her hair. "W-Well... I'm not sure about that."

Scorpius grinned. "Trust me, I would know."

She smiled again, somewhat sheepishly. "Thanks."

"So, you want to go into research?"

Once Scorpius got Rose going on her future ambitions, she didn't seem to stop. They talked for hours, about the possibilities of distilling the power of transfiguration into more adaptable spells, about what the future of magic could look like, and above all, what life might be like after Hogwarts.

"It'll be nice not to have to do potions." She opined.

"Why'd you had them so much?"

Rose sighed, shrugged. "Couldn't say."

"Can't, or won't?" She laughed.

"Both."

By the time Scorpius was next aware, it was dark outside.

"Oh, no." Rose sighed.

Scorpius frowned. "What is it? Something wrong."

"No," Rose nodded to the window, "it's just dark outside already."

"Oh." Scorpius felt his heart sink. "We should go back to the castle then."

Rose was silent. She was biting the inside of her bottom lip, which always meant that she was thinking. "Yeah. I guess."

"Come on, we might be able to see those unicorn foals if we ask nicely."

"Are there really unicorn foals?" Rose narrowed her eyes at him.

"No idea. They could be anything in reality."

When Scorpius fell silent, he realised the entire pub around them was quiet. It was almost empty of people. "I guess we stayed for longer than we thought."

Rose frowned. "Yeah." She made a sound, and got up. "Let's go back to the castle."

She wouldn't look at him again.

"What's the matter?"

Standing this close to her and not being afraid for his life, Scorpius realised he was only three inches or so taller than her. And that she smelt more like fresh roses than ever today.

"Nothing." She shook her head. Nothing." She looked up at him.

Winding their scarves back around their necks, they left the pub with a smile to Madam Rosmerta as they went.

"Oh Dumbledore, it's cold." Rose shivered, her cheeks growing pink in the evening chill.

"Here," Scorpius took the little flame-containing bottle out of his pocket, "use this."

He could see Rose frowning in the half-light of the Three Broomstick's lights as she took it. "This is... nicely done. Thank you."

"You may be the best of this age, Rose, but I'm the best at Charms."

"Oh!" Rose let out a competitive bark of laughter. "That is _debatable_!"

Scorpius laughed. "Fine. But I am the best when I've also got Albus and Alfie helping me."

Rose conceded to that with a nod of her head.

The path back up to Hogwarts was almost deserted, but clearly well travelled. The grass had been pummelled into the a sludge of earth around the sides of the stone path, and only very few students were still travelling it.

Scorpius felt slightly sick the whole time. They'd fallen into silence, and it was only because Scorpius knew that he had to ask her somewhere or to do something, but he couldn't quite bring himself. He fished around for that calm, assertive voice of Felix Felicis, but it was gone. That increased the lead weight in his stomach by tenfold. He looked over at Rose, who was looking at him. They both quickly looked away. What if he'd been getting all the signs completely wrong? What if she was just humouring him, just being nice? What if she was only putting on an act and still secretly hated him?

Or, he thought as he noticed her sneak another look at him out of the corner of her eye, she might like him.

"Say, Rose?"

"Yes?" She replied a little too quickly.

Scorpius was slightly thrown off, and took a moment to stir up His courage again. He _was_ going to ask her. He _was_ going to do this. "Would you want to go to the next Slug Club meeting together?"

She didn't look startled. She didn't even look concerned. She just stopped under the golden, glowing light from the castle and turned to face him.

He felt like he was being searched, but he was confident that he had nothing to hide. No secret intentions like Max - nothing.

She gave a slight nod. And then another, bigger one. "Okay."

Scorpius heart seemed to fall all the way to Australia and then rose back up into his throat again. "R-Really? You will?" He almost yelled.

"Yes! Now quieten down before I change my mind." She turned away and started walking up the path again, but not before he saw her smile.

He restrained himself, saving this burst of euphoria for the dorm, and swallowed his cries of joy. And his tears of happiness. "Alrighty then."

She cast him a sceptical look out of the corner of her eyes when he caught up to her. "'Alrighty'?"

"I know, I'm so sorry." Scorpius was about to further exonerate himself when he was interrupted by a rustling from the bushes to their left.

Scorpius pulled out his wand, taking a step in front of Rose.

"Really, Scorpius, you have to stop doing this." A jolt went to his stomach, despite the apparent imminent danger. "I _can_ take care of myself." She appeared next to him.

"Right. Yes. Sorry."

He watched Rose roll her eyes with a tiny smile.

Suddenly, whatever it was emerged from the bushes and ran, giggling, back onto the path.

Rose raised her wand for a curse, but Scorpius put his hand on her arm.

"Joshua?" He squinted to see who it was with him. "Amelie...?"

"Alright, Scorpius? Oh, and Rose."

Joshua raised his eyebrows in a meaningful way at Scorpius. "What happened? Where are Max and Alfie and Albus?"

"Max and Alfie went to see unicorn foals at Hagrid's, Albus is in the hospital wing."

"Al's in the hospital wing? What happened to him?" Rose asked, a slight note of panic in her voice.

"Oh, he's really ill. He's going to be fine though, don't worry." Scorpius looked back over at Joshua and Amelie, engaged in a discussion about the unicorn foals.

"I'll take you to see them tomorrow! How about that?" Amelie narrowed her eyes.

"Okay."

And the pair started up the path again, marching in unison through the wide gates of Hogwarts.

Scorpius shrugged at Rose.

But she was smiling at him. "You're a good friend. To Al."

Scorpius was certain he must've looked halfway between frightened rabbit and confused dog. "Thanks. I mean, he's annoying but I do my best with him."

Rose laughed, and as they walked under the Hogwarts gates and through the empty courtyard into the entrance hall, she turned to him,

"Thanks. For this." She hurried to add, and gave him the little bottle back. "I'll... I'll see you in class on Monday."

Scorpius nodded, and wasn't quite able to get any words out. He just watched her go, staring happily at her retreating back.

Oh boy, Albus was going to love this.

* * *

 _Hee hee, I love writing hopelessly romantic stuff!_

 _What can I say? It was always going to go well. Luck potion to the rescue! But on a serious note, we all know that real-life romances never go this well, not to ruin your dreams or anything._

 _Also, I'm not sure if it really is 68% of Hogwarts students get married to a fellow student, but looking at the in-book generation, this would be my guess. What about you guys - what would you say, if you had to put a percentage on it? Strange food for thought, right?_

 _Anyway, please follow for more and review if you've got time. Thanks!_


	14. Cracks of Anger

**_Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter_**

 _Okay, sorry about the placeholder I had to put in last night everyone!_

 _Thank you to **Guest** , **Guest** , **MLMarint** , **catwomannnn1** (I wouldn't be surprised if 75% is right!), and **BellaStoria** for your reviews! School is getting intense right now so I really do appreciate it every time I get a notification of a new review!_

 _ *****Edit***** Thank you to **Guest** for your review on this chapter - I've gone through and made corrections to all the errors you noted! I'm so dumb with stars/space, so apologies everyone and thank you for your patience._

 _Enjoy!_

* * *

 _Chapter 14: Cracks of Anger_

Albus was released from the Hospital Wing without much fanfare the very next day, weighed down by considerably less mucus and having a very attentive Lydia by his side. That meant two things: one, that whilst Lydia was there the rest of them may as well not have existed and two, that both Scorpius and Max could go back to living a life without trying desperately to avoid getting ill.

The next week, Rose and Scorpius began to do their prefect's rounds together. To both their surprise, they always managed to have something in common. It turned out that both of them wanted to do some kind of academic research after school finished and, as the only two people they each knew who were interested in that, they could talk about it to their heart's desire.

"So just to clarify once more, you don't find it cripplingly nerdy if I go off on one about how much I love reading the Potions Monthly journals?"

Rose smiled. "Only if you don't mock how I used to steal my mother's copies of journals when I was younger."

Scorpius refrained at that point from declaring that he loved her even more.

They actually got on very well, when he was tripping over himself to talk to her, and she warmed to the idea that he wasn't a psychotic robot. Although, of course, he still occasionally tripped over himself. Sometimes literally.

"Ahh!" Scorpius fell up the stairs with a thunk, twisted ankle throbbing behind him.

"Scorpius— What the hell?"

"Malfoy tripped on air~ Malfoy tripped on air~" Peeves sang gleefully as he whizzed by, blowing a party whistle as he went.

"How can he even blow those things? How the hell does that work?" Scorpius held two fingers up to the retreating poltergeist as he was helped up by Rose.

"I still have no idea, to this day." Rose sighed as she, too, watched Peeves fly away. "So did you really just fall over nothing?"

"Oh, no. Peeves pulled my leg." Scorpius rolled his eyes. Peeves had caught on fairly early that Scorpius wasn't the most popular kid, and never, _ever_ let it go. "At least I wasn't outside this time."

"Again?"

"You don't even want to know."

If there was one thing that Scorpius found could quickly shut Rose up, it was to mention his past. He didn't know why; she used to be quite gleeful about it. If he remembered correctly, she'd laughed along with the rest of the students for three whole years.

Their rounds were often the high point of his week, which is why it was a shame they were on Mondays. He had to somehow do something that was equally as enjoyable at least one more time that week for it not to feel like a complete letdown. With the amount of homework they had to do, that felt nearly impossible.

"Have any of you _actually_ mastered non-verbal spells yet?" Albus asked frustratedly, his face still looking red and strained from his last few attempts at casting Lumos without saying anything.

"Nope. I've only got better at ventriloquy." Alfie sighed, putting his wand down in exchange for an ancient-looking book.

"Why do you only ever read books that look like they're about to disintegrate?"

Alfie shrugged at Max. "I like the thrill of danger."

"'The thrill of danger'?"

"Y'know. Will it be my hands it disintegrates in or the next person's? Am I going to be the one who has to deal with Madam Pince? That kind of thing."

"To be fair," Scorpius added before Max had time to say something stupid, "Madam Pince is terrifying."

"Do you remember that time we got kicked out, y'know, last year?" Joshua grinned at Max and Albus.

Albus leant back against the wall of their hideaway. "I thought she was going to transform into some horrible beast."

"What did you do, though?" Alfie asked in slight gobsmacked horror.

Max pulled an innocent face. Clearly, that was quite hard for him. "We only started a small, _accidental_ fire."

"You started a fire... in the library?" Scorpius asked Albus, who was trying hard not to laugh.

"Turns out that when you use your wand to follow the words, it can sometimes cause a fire if you're reading about fire spells."

"We put it out! You couldn't even see the damage—"

"— the page is a little brown."

"—okay, you can _barely_ see the damage. But still, the point is that I don't think she had to run us out the library."

"Oh Merlin's Beard, she _chased_ you out the library?"

"Yep. Full speed chase."

Scorpius laughed. Even if he was slightly horrified, he couldn't help himself. "That's hilarious."

"We do try our best." Joshua saluted him.

Joshua had been in a _much_ better mood since the Hogsmeade weekend, and since Amelie Bennett had accepted his invitation to the Ball. It turned out that he was only so mad since she was the only girl so far who didn't immediately drop at his feet. That, or she and her friends were using their common sense. But finally, she had agreed after he did something he refused to say during that Hogsmeade visit. Of course, Alfie knew about this all along. Of course he did, it was Alfie. Alfie, the paragon of how to raise your teenage boy, who was also very clearly increasingly bothered about something. He seemed to spend most of the time he was 'reading' staring at the page and biting his lip. But every time Scorpius even hinted about it, he never broke. He was like the world's hardest-boiled egg.

* * *

So, as November rolled around and the nights drew in but the homework dragged out, Scorpius was the only one left without a date to the Ball. But he hoped that would soon change, What with he and Roses' first 'date' to the Slug Club soon approaching.

"You can't call it a date, Scorpius." Joshua chastised.

"You really can't, not when old Sluggy'll be there." Max added.

"I'm going to call it a date because it makes me feel better." Scorpius argued back. "Oh wait no, it doesn't, that's now a lead weight sinking through the lining of my stomach."

Alfie lazily drew his eyes up from his book to look round at Scorpius who was halfway between shaking and dancing from one foot to another. "Oh. That's unpleasant."

"Calm down, mate. Try not to look like a blast-ended skroot hit you up the arse."

"Max— what the hell?!"

And so, in the second week of November, Scorpius found himself anxiously waiting with Albus in the Great Hall for both Lydia Griffiths and Rose to appear.

"How does this never get easier?" Albus whined to himself.

"You're asking the wrong person."

"Oh. Yeah."

"Try _not_ to drink the whole bottle of fire whiskey this time."

Albus rolled his eyes at Scorpius, who sweetly smiled and adjusted Albus' tie.

"There you are!" Came Lydia Griffiths' lilting voice, and it felt like Albus had been shocked under Scorpius' very fingertips.

Lydia, dressed in light blue, was walking with Rose, who was dressed in long, navy dress robes.

"You look great." He commented as she came closer.

"Thank you. Let's not get too shallow now, though. I can still abandon you at any time."

"Right. Thanks."

Rose gave him a disarming smile and he just about melted.

"Stop shaking." She commented as they walked to Slughorn's Office together.

Scorpius jumped from his nerve-induced trance. "What? Shaking?"

"Yes. You."

"Oh. I'll try."

She sighed. "Do you often get nervous?"

"Not usually." He didn't think it'd sound right if he told her he only ever got nervous around beautiful women - aka, her. Max might have even called it 'stalkerish'.

She looked bemused at his answer. "I suppose I'm flattered, then."

"Only the best of company get to witness my nervous breakdowns."

"Oh, Dumbledore." She laughed.

The four of them waited outside Slughorn's rooms, waiting for him - or whoever he roped in to wait on them that night - to open the door for them.

It was a student who opened the door to them, perhaps a third or fourth year all dressed in white. Rose seemed to recognise him as she gave him a wave when they passed.

"Do you know everyone by design or by accident?"

"I suppose it's a coincidence. I'm from a famous family, they all know me; I simply remember them in return."

"Must be nice." Scooirus opined, and Rose quickly turned away, suddenly engaging James in a short conversation.

"Ditched that fast, eh?" Naoki Greensmith appeared at Scorpius' side, towering over Scorpius as always. He was ridiculously tall, but he supposed that it was an advantage for a keeper. He could cover more ground in an instant, just by virtue of sheer body mass.

"It's my obvious charm. No one can resist it."

Naoki smiled with an affection that had grown ever since their Quidditch victory. "I heard about Slughorn's offer, too."

"O-Oh?" Scorpius spluttered. He hadn't told his friends about that. He hadn't even told Albus or written to his father. He didn't really believe it himself yet. "How'd you find that one out?"

"Do you remember Oliver Turner?"

Scorpius wracked his mind for the name. It sounded vaguely familiar.

"No, I don't think so."

"A few years above me, used to be a beater on the Quidditch team. Always wore T-shirts, even in winter."

Scorpius grinned. He remembered T-shirt man. "Oh yeah, what about him?"

"We're friends, and he works there now as an administrator. He told me that Slughorn had sent in a letter to the head of the laboratories asking about a placement for one Mr Malfoy. Not hard to put two and two together, eh?"

"I guess not. Would you mind not telling anyone, though? Only, I haven't told anyone yet. I don't even believe it myself."

"'Course. Anything for my start player." Naoki grinned, clapping Scorpius on the shoulder.

"What're you talking about?" Rose, Lily, Jasmine and Paige seemed to appear out of nowhere.

"Nothing. We were just talking about the next Quidditch game."

"The Gryffindor-Ravenclaw one? Oh, it's going to be so good!" Lily was energetic at the best of times, but even more so when it came to Quidditch. It wasn't surprising when one considered that Quidditch was essentially hardwired into her DNA.

"That, and we were debating which team would be easier to beat in the finals." Scorpius teased.

"Do you really want to have this fight?" Paige asked. Scorpius was momentarily taken aback. This must've been the first time they'd ever talked. Even when they'd had to sit next to each other all of Defense Against the Dark Arts in third year she hadn't said a word to him.

He grinned. "Well, I am pretty confident in my team, but I'm willing to hear you out."

"I'll leave before this gets messy. And, y'know — well done, Scorpius."

Scorpius gave a salute, and caught Rose's eyes. She narrowed her eyes briefly, but even if she realised that they had absolutely not been discussing quidditch, she let it drop.

It was a long while later until Scorpius and Rose were alone again. Almost two hours, in fact, and after the party had officially ended.

Rose had hung back in the charge of people who flowed out of Slughorn's office and into the chilly evening air, so she could catch Scorpius, who'd been discussing Slughorn's offer with him.

"Slughorn have something important to say?"

Scorpius hummed in approval.

"Are you going to tell me?"

"Oh, it's... it's nothing."

"If you say so."

He restrained a frown, choosing to ignore it. Things never ended well when two know-it-alls began to argue.

They walked back up to the courtyard together in the still November night. The stars looked beautiful in the tranquil night sky just beyond the grand arches of the grand hall's magnificent doorway.

"Do you want to go to the astronomy tower?" She asked, quite suddenly. "Don't start shaking again!" She giggled at the feeling of his surprise under her fingertips.

"Don't worry - I can assure you I've got the heart of a lion."

"Oh, really?" She asked, catching up to his long strides up the grand staircase.

"Absolutely. A baby lion though, obviously."

She laughed, leaning close to him. "You know, Albus told me about everything that happened. You know, in fourth year."

"Oh. Yeah, that." Scorpius felt his dinner churning uncomfortably in his stomach.

"I... I think you're braver than you realise. You could almost qualify as one of us, on a good day."

"Thank you, but I'm proudly a Slytherin."

She made a small sound. "If you insist."

"I do. Emerald and silver are just so complimentary to my skin tone." He said, deliberately affecting an overly-feminised voice.

"Don't mock the fashion of the house colours! You should take some tips from your friend Alfie; he's great with fashion."

"I know. He's great with girls, fashion, people in general... we all secretly want to be Alfie on the inside."

Rose smiled at him as they reached the top of the fourth-floor staircase.

"You're strange."

Scorpius frowned. _He_ was strange? Pot, meet kettle.

And so Scorpius found himself sitting in the Astronomy Tower, pressed up against the rails, his legs hanging through the gaps, and watching the stars with the girl he'd never thought he'd be able to hold a full conversation with.

"Do you ever wonder if there are people on those stars, staring right back at us?"

Rose looked at him with wide chocolate brown eyes, that now he saw in the bright moonlight, had speckles of blue around the outer edge of the iris. And he could still see the remainder of her summer freckles around her eyes.

She looked back out at the starry autumn sky. "What do you mean?"

Scorpius frowned. "That... there could be people on those stars looking right back at us."

"You know they're flaming rocks of destruction, streaking across the galaxy, right?"

"Nope."

"Seriously?"

"No one ever taught me about these things! And they're not potions or history, so they're not worth researching."

She laughed, her teeth white against the red lipstick she was wearing. "It is always good to be open-minded, isn't it?"

The way she looked at him, a smile full of laughter, through thick eyelashes with eyes that sparkled with playfulness. That was a look that could kill him. And with that look in her eyes, anyone might think...

No.

Anyone could perhaps maybe think that she was flirting with him.

"Well, y'know, History is— it's very important and stuff."

The look was gone, replaced by a raised eyebrow. "Oh, really?"

"Sure. History directly lays the foundations for culture. Culture feeds into who we are as people. It just makes sense that we understand our culture to understand ourselves."

She swallowed, and raised her eyebrows in defeat, looking back out at the sky. "I suppose so."

A silence only interrupted by the wind gently blowing brought the corridors disturbing them.

"Go on, then. Tell me something important."

"Well, I can tell you all about unicorns and witches in the Roman world if you want."

"Oh god—" Rose groaned, "next!"

Scorpius laughed along with Rose. "Well how about... the first astrology teacher here!"

"Oh?"

"His name was Aethelred the Gazer. He used to stare and stare and stare at the stars so much, Ravenclaw offered him a post here."

"You mean — the original Ravenclaw? Rowena Ravenclaw?"

"The one and only."

"Wow. That was a serious lapse in judgment."

Scorpius smiled. "You'd think. But then he correctly predicted the death of her daughter based on planetary alignments, and thus Astrology became a permanent subject here, with him as the first teacher."

Rose made a sound of argument. "As if! That doesn't sound right."

"It's what 'is written'. And if a historian writes it down you absolutely believe every word you read as though ancient historians are incapable of telling lies."

Rose chuckled. "Whatever they say, I still don't really believe in astrology."

"Well, sometimes Alfie predicts nice things, so I definitely believe it then."

Silence fell between them again. And Scorpius found, to his delight, that he didn't feel the need to eat his own lips or score his stomach with his nails because of it. It was a pleasant silence. He found himself able to listen to the cool whistling of the first winter winds, look out over the grounds and to the Great Lake, and at Rose's beautiful, _beautiful_ face before turning back to the night sky without feeling uncomfortable.

"You know, my Uncle Harry _hates_ astrology."

Scorpius tore his eyes from the shimmering night sky to look at Rose. Her dark eyes reflected all the stars and shimmered brighter than any of them. "Really?"

She nodded with a hum. "He says it's weird to look at the night sky and suddenly decide the future."

"Now that is officially the most cynical approach to astrology I've ever heard.."

"Yeah. I think it's because he was essentially raised a muggle so stars are only for gazing to him."

"He was raised a muggle?" Scorpius frowned. Rose turned to look at him.

"Well, of course. How don't you know that?"

"I knew his parents died, but I just assumed he had _some_ relative who took him in."

"He did." Rosen's frown matched Scorpius'. "His aunt and uncle. The muggles?"

Scorpius shrugged. "I don't know anything about modern Wizarding History past 1985."

Rose let out a choke of disbelief. "Let me get this straight. You believe that history is necessary to the understanding of oneself, but you don't know anything about the Second Wizarding War?!"

"Yeah. But we've never covered anything past that date. It's not really History then, is it?"

Rose clasped her hands over her eyes, exasperated. "Malfoy, you are the direct result of that history. It is who you are. Who I am. Who your parents are, who my parents are — everything!"

Scorpius' stomach dropped like a leaden weight, and he felt himself warm despite the frigid night air. He frowned down at his fidgeting hands resting anxiously in his lap. "I know the things some of my family did. But it wasn't all of us - not by a long shot! My parents are innocent, and so am I."

Rose sighed heavily through her nose. She looked back out at the night sky, but this time her eyes weren't shining with serenity.

"I do not understand you. I really just don't get it." She turned to look at him, and her face was somehow closed off to him. Like one of the walls he'd worked so hard to pull down had gone straight back up again. "Why don't you know anything? Didn't anyone ever tell you stories? Didn't you ever look things up for yourself?"

"Well, sure I heard the rumours!" Scorpius replied, feeling that acidic heat spread into his voice. "It's hard not to when people shout them at you down the school corridors. But they're just horrible rumours and that's that."

"Really?"

"Obviously! I'm not the son of Voldemort, my dad wasn't a death eater and there was never a bloody massacre in my house!"

Rose opened and closed her mouth a few times. "I— Okay. Alright." She stood up.

"What?" Scorpius asked, feeling the anger abate.

"I just need to take a little time. Go and... think things over."

"What? I don't get it."

"I know you don't. That's the problem." She groaned and stood, turning to leave swiftly with her dress robes trailing behind. "Look, I'll see you around."

"What? Rose!" He called, but nothing came except the shape of her retreating back getting smaller and smaller. He felt sick to the pit of his stomach again, but this time not with nerves - with confusion and emptiness and anger.

"I don't get it!" he yelled to no one at all, giving the stone cold ground a hard punch for good measure.

He looked out to the night sky. There were all his ancestor's namesakes, glitteringly proudly like a blanket over the night sky. There was his father's constellation, and his constellation. The decidedly evil grandparent's stars hidden amongst a constellation, and the star he'd decided would be his mother's star. His innocent, wonderful mother.

What on Earth was she implying? He frowned, his face turning hard. To suggest things about his father was one thing, but his mother... she was dead. She was gone, and never coming back, and suggest anything about her was to go too far. Too much, even for Rose to do. Why would she dare to imply anything like that?

For the first time in his entire life, Scorpius Malfoy experienced a moment he had never expected to feel. He was angry at Rose Granger-Weasley.

Anger is a funny emotion. Because often, it fades away far quicker than it lingers for, and then you're left with the mess around you from whatever you did in those few furious moments. If you were lucky, maybe it was something you could smooth over with a quick apology, or perhaps an object that you could cast _reparo_ on and you'd never even know the difference. He and Albus had fought so many times over the years that I'd you looked hard enough, their friendship was full of sealed over cracks. But those healed up cracks gave their friendship its unique designed; fashioned them into who they were all those years later.

If you weren't lucky, those few moments of anger could cause a cavernous divide of life-long pain.

Scorpius cast a quick glance across the Great Hall. Rose met his eyes and, without any emotion at all, blinked and looked back at Lola Travers next to her. She was so devoid of feeling, so cool and unabashed that Scorpius felt a shiver of ice clamour in his stomach.

"Don't look all the time. You'll only make things worse." Joshua mumbled into Scorpius' ear. He felt Joshua's hand on his shoulder and gave a half-hearted smile.

"I always did say I was a hopeless romantic."

"Romantic may be right, but we've yet to see on the 'hopeless' front."

"Blimey, Josh. I've never seen you so optimistic!" Max cackled, and you didn't have to think hard to know why he was laughing.

Joshua rolled his eyes as the tiny witch at the front of the table-less Great Hall clapped her magically magnified hands together. The sound hit the walls with a boom.

"Welcome, Sixth Years, to apparition lessons. My name is Mildred Spans and I will be conducting this course throughout the year."

Professor Henrich prowled behind her at the front of the hall like a hungry panther.

"Today we shall cover the basics of apparition. This is a particularly advanced and difficult form of magic to accomplish, so I don't expect any of you to apparate anywhere today. Now, I want you all to line up - about three feet spare in all directions - and wait for Professor Henrich and me to distribute the hoops to you.

Scorpius and Albus lined up next to each other, Joshua and Max behind them and Alfie, who had been a tiny bit late arriving, was at the back with a few Ravenclaws - one of them Scorpius might've recognised as Oliver Abbey. He gave them a wave and a vague smile, before lining up next to Oliver, and Albus and Scorpius returned their attention to the hoops Professor Henrich 'accidentally' almost levitated to land on Scorpius head - not at his feet.

"Dick—head" Albus disguised in a heavy cough. Scorpius almost chocked on his laughter as Professor Henrich glances back at them from two rows in front.

"Apparition," Mildred Spans began in a high, almost shrill and reedy voice, "rests on the three Ds:"

Scorpius heard a stifled snigger from behind him, and he didn't even have to turn around to know it was Max.

"Destination, determination and deliberation. Decide on your destination first. Set your mind on it with all the determination you have, and without too much haste and the right amount of deliberation," she spun on the spot, and with a pop appeared in the hoop before her, "do a quick spin, and you will have apparated by yourself."

She gave a flushed smile as they applauded her, and Albus and Scorpius gave nervous looks to each other. Somehow, now he was faced with _actually_ / apparating, he stomach felt like a hundred butterflies spontaneous hatched and burst into flight. Sure, reading about it was fine. Made it sound easy, even. But simply turning on the spot and hoping that you ended up somewhere else? Now that was hard work. Appearing somewhere else seemed like trying to learn how to do non-verbal spells twenty times over.

"Now then, I want each of you to give it a good try. Decide on your destination - that'll be your hoop - muster all your determination, and then deliberate on moving your body so that you'll apparat to the hoop."

Scorpius gave Albus an uneasy grimace. It didn't seem just as easy as following those way too vague rules, but he'd try. And as he stared into the void of ancient floorboards in the hoop in front of him, he convinced himself that he would do it. Of course he would. He could do anything he set his mind to - and he had the added benefit of having apparated with his father several times a year for the past few years. No one was likely to forget such a horrible feeling quickly.

He took a deep breath as the noise built around him. Students twirling on the spot, falling to the ground, and yelling muffled swear words as they stubbed their toes on the hoops all around them.

He closed his eyes and cleared his mind. He could do this. He _could_ do this. Thinking only of the hoop in front of him, he put all his determination into wanting desperately to apparate and—

"Oh bloody— ow!" Scorpius cried as he hit the ground. He looked up to see Max and Joshua barley keeping themselves upright from laughing.

"Oh go on then, how far have you two moved?" Scorpius frowned, rubbing his arse as he climbed back to his feet.

"About three inches." Max shrugged, making a very unconvincing lie.

"That must be a phrase you hear a lot." Joshua sniggered.

"You know, Josh, projection is a very common technique for people dealing with personal issues."

"Turn around, Mr Malfoy." Scorpius' neck almost cracked as he whipped his head around to see Professor Henrich glaring at them.

"Sorry, Professor."

He glided away like an arrogant hawk, beady eyes gleaming in the torchlight and dragon skin cloak glittering darkly.

"He is just a walking horror villain, isn't he?" Scorpius heard Joshua mutter, and agreed internally.

His eyes turned to Albus, who was frowning deeply and biting his lip - a habit of concentration that Scorpius hadn't seen since Ancient Runes.

"Scor - I can feel your eyes on me! I feel like an interrogation subject."

"Sorry!" Scorpius snorted, and turned his eyes back to his own hoop, leaving Albus in peace.

He closed his eyes again, blocking out the soft train of swear words coming from Harry Shaw a few hoops over. He focused only on the image of the hoop, and bore down slightly in preparation for a spin.

 _Pop!_

Scorpius opened his eyes at the sharp sound. It pierced the bubble of chatter over the hall and everyone stopped turning.

In the destination hoop stood Albus, wobbling slightly on his feet and looking a little bit bemused.

"Oh. I did it." He mumbled, scratching the side of his head.

"Did a student just apparate?" Mildred Spans wove through the lines of gawking students to find Albus. "I do not believe it. This hasn't happened in eight years!"

Albus, growing redder by the moment, fought desperately not to meet her eyes.

"Could you show us again?" She asked, and Albus deepened to at least a light plum shade.

"M-Me?"

"No, Al. She wants the rest of us who can't apparate to do it." Scorpius chided, folding his arms over his chest.

Albus relaxed, rolled his eyes, and stepped out of the destination hoop and back into the original one. Exhaling loudly, he lined himself up again and closed his eyes. And, with a spin and a crack he was gone, appearing seconds later in the destination hoop an just as bemused as he had looked last time.

"Blimey. Feels a bit unpleasant, doesn't it?" He mumbled, and a few students surrounding him chuckled.

"You're lucky. The last student to apparate in their first lesson promptly emptied their stomach all over the floor"

"I can see why."

Professor Henrich, who had prowled closer, now floated away equally as fast with a disgusted look on his face. Knowing him, he was probably wearing gaudily expensive shoes under that cloak, too.

"Students." Mildred Spans gave an artificially magnified clap again, and this time every single student in the hall had their attention on Albus again. Colour crept up from his collar again. "Did you all see this student? He properly focused on his destination, put all his determination into it, and deliberated on how he was going to achieve it. Now you have a go at doing it. Pip-pip!"

With a pop, she apparatus to the front of the hall again, and Albus' face mercifully began to drain of colour.

"Thank Merlin she left! You look like you're about to explode." Max chided, and Albus stuck two fingers up in response.

"Well, at least Al can do it." Scorpius said, looking longingly at his destination hoop. "If we jump into it really fast, would that count?"

"No chance." The three of them chorused.

Albus apparated at least four more times in the remainder of their lesson, but the only time Scorpius got into his was to pick it up at the end.

"Next time, Scor." Albus had consoled his friend with a shy smile and a piece of empty advice at the end of the hour, and Scorpius quickly picked up his smile again as they headed down to the dungeons. But not before quite literally bumping into a taciturn Rose beforehand.

"Oh. Malfoy."

Scorpius gritted his teeth. "Granger-Weasley." He declared back. It simultaneously gratified the dim light of anger and grudge within the pit of his stomach and made his heart positively ache to be so callous. And he wasn't good at it - because he knew that he would moon over her for the rest of time given half a chance.

* * *

A letter for Scorpius came a few mornings later. One of the tawny owls that his father kept in his office dropped it in his cornflakes and flew off without a pause.

"Nice. I do enjoy a soggy letter every now and then." Max commented, watching as Scorpius retrieved the dripping corner of his letter from the bowl.

Cringing, he dried the milk-soaked point and opened the letter. It was the heavy official parchment again, and that same bold-inked pen.

"Your dad really does know how to add the personal touch, doesn't he?" Albus mumbled with a knowing smile.

Scorpius shrugged, and pulled out the letter.

 _Dear Scorpius,_

 _You'll pick up apparating soon. I was a fast learner, but not everyone is. Keep trying. And if Albus ever gives you grief, I've got some stories about his father you could always use._

 _Life is the same as always at home. I get up, I eat, I go to work, I come home, and sometimes I even tidy(!) Catherine is pleased. But the rats are at play again, and Theia's presence is missed. I look forward to having the two of you back._

 _I'm working on a bill at the moment at the ministry - the one I always bored you and your mum with. My co-workers are less terse these days so the response has been good so far. If I'm lucky, I might even get to put it before the Minister in the near future!_

 _You've been vague about your friends lately. I haven't heard anything since the Quidditch match. Is everything okay? I'm not your mother, but maybe I can help._

 _Keep up the good work. You're doing well and living up to the Malfoy name. I'm proud of you._

 _Your Father._

Somehow, he felt slightly unwell when he read the final line. 'Living up to the Malfoy name'. That name hasn't got him anywhere - and it had never done his father or mother any favours.

"What is it? Did you tell you that you're the milkman's son?"

"What— What even is a 'milk-man'?"

Joshua looked at them all dumbfounded. "Oh, come on! You're telling me none of you know what a milkman is?" He rolled his eyes. "This is exactly why Muggle Studies is important."

"Well..." Scorpius folded the letter and put it neatly back in the envelope. "He didn't say that."

"What's up, then?" Alfie asked, tearing his eyes away from the Daily Prophet's back pages. He'd always side he liked to read the 'looking for love section' he said it made him realise there was a wider world out there than just Hogwarts.

"Oh, well he just mentioned something about me 'living up to the Malfoy name'.

Albus chocked on his pumpkin juice. "W-Was it a joke? Because Scor, you're nothing like the Malfoy name!" He laughed into his goblet, but no one else joined him.

Scorpius frowned. "What do you mean?"

"No— nothing. Just that, y'know. The rumours aren't the best for the last generation or so."

Max and Joshua stared at Albus with wide eyes and Alfie retreated behind his newspaper.

Scorpius took a deep breath and tried to ignore that he was clenching his fist so hard the nails almost cut into his skin. "Okay."

"Scor— it's nothing against your dad. Or your mum. But if it didn't bother you at least a bit, why're you so bothered by it?"

Max sucked in a tiny breath and Alfie raised the paper higher in front of himself.

"Well, it bothers me that you're implying that my family really are the worst of the worst." Even if he knew Albus was right, even if it did bother him that reading those lines of his dad's letter caused his chest to freeze in an instant, for Albus of all people to actually _say_ it was so much worse.

"I'm sorry. I know it bothered you—"

"Yeah, yeah it does! I spent years with it being thrown in my face, every day. Things said about my parents that you're never going to be able to understand!"

"I know, but—"

"No, you don't. I'm fed up, I'm going to the library." Scorpius pulled his bag out from under the table violently and stormed out of the hall without even finishing his breakfast, determined to spend all of his free morning alone, and at peace. Besides, Abus had class all morning - and not seeing his stupid face would let Scorpius think in peace.

* * *

Scorpius thumbed over the letter all morning. Fingers tracing the dented letters 'Malfoy' over and over again.

He always knew he should've been a Greengrass. And he was one, really. His aunt hadn't been as kind as his mum, but she'd been nice whenever he went to see her. But he didn't even know if she was still alive or well, not after she and his dad fought at Scorpius' mum's funeral. Talk about a bad day.

But if he'd been a Greengrass, he wouldn't have to sit there for hours and wonder why his family made him feel so uncomfortable. Sure, his dad's parents hadn't been the best. And yeah, maybe they were in Azkaban. But people must've needed scapegoats to put all their pain on after the war, and his grandparents were the perfect candidates.

And if people were willing to honestly believe that he was the son of Voldemort, they could believe anything. And if there was someone to believe something, there were people to make it up, too. No one liked his dad, that was a fact. And sometimes, Scorpius got it. So there were all the more people to make up things that he and his kin had done, and no one was around to defend them anymore but Scorpius - and it was only recently anyone had started listening to him.

"Scorpius... Malfoy?"

Scorpius looked around wildly, jolted as though from a nightmare.

"Oh. Lola, right?" Scorpius vaguely recognised the chubby blonde girl as one of Rose's friend. A Gryffindor.

"That's me. Mind if I sit here?"

"No. Go for it." He shoved the letter back into its envelope and slipped it back between the worn pages of his potions book.

"You know, I've wanted to say this since the Quidditch match," she nervously tucked some of her hair behind her ear, "thanks for what you said. To Daniel."

Scorpius frowned. "Eh?"

"My dad. He was a Death Eater, and now he's in Azkaban. But I'm not him, and I never will be. I still love him, despite what he's all done."

"Oh. I'm sorry. About y'know, all that."

She gave a half-smile. "It is what it is."

Scorpius noticed that her light blue eyes looked a little vacant in that way the Scammander's twins' did, and her voice was exceedingly gentle. He never would've know what her dad was if she hadn't told him.

"It's nice to see someone in the same boat as me."

Scorpius frowned, and pressed his lips together.

"And even when we do completely own our family's past, sometimes it's hard for others to see that we aren't just the same as them. I never want to see the Death Eaters come back, and I'd give anything to make sure it stays that way. But some people don't get it. So it's nice to see someone who speaks out about how we own the past like that."

Scorpius opened his mouth dumbfounded, and quickly found he had to shut it. He had nothing to say.

"Anyway. I don't want to distract you from your work. That's all I wanted to say, really."

"Oh, it's fine. You can stay if you want." Scorpius added without really thinking.

She gave a kind smile and shook her head. "It's alright. I've got to go read the old newspapers for Muggle Studies class, anyway."

"We have newspapers?"

She chuckled lightly. "Yeah. A whole rack of them at the back. The Daily Prophet, from last year all the way back to the late 1400s."

"You're kidding? The 1400s! I'll have to check that out as soon as I stop drowning in this pile of essays."

"Chance is a fine thing. Um, I'll see you later Scorpius."

He smiled, and gave her a wave as she walked back to the newspaper aisle.

He pulled out the letter again. Albus' words burned at the back of his mind still. And an hour later, a very harried looking Albus speed-walked last the table Scorpius was sitting at, only to reverse up to it when he saw the shiny platinum hair.

"Scor!" He whispered so fiercely he almost shouted.

"Hey! Do you want to get us kicked out?"

"No. Look- I'm sorry about earlier. I didn't think, I was being stupid."

Scorpius shook his head. "'S fine. I got a bit hot-headed."

"No, I wasn't thinking of your family. I'm sorry. Your dad's really nice, and I'd never say that to his face, so I shouldn't have said it behind his back, either."

Scorpius smiled as he recognised the same old logic that Albus had always applied to relationships, handed down from his mum. She sounded like a wise woman to Scorpius.

"Thanks. And for what it's worth, I'll just go on repressing my feelings until I don't even react anymore,"

Albus snorted, and quickly covered his face with his Charms book as Madam Pince wafted by.

"How British."

"How true."

 _Better luck next time in apparition_ —

Later that week, Albus and Scorpius were trotting lazily back from the library at night, heads heavy from all the potions essay-writing they'd been doing. How many words can you even write about how effective minuscule temperature changes were, anyway? Apparently eight inches worth, in Slughorn's mind.

And in Scorpius' mind, Rose's still frigid treatment was far, far more interesting.

"You know, she might've looked at me for more than three seconds today in potions. And Max says that _always_ means a girl likes you."

"Max said that because _any_ girl who looks at him, likes him."

"Don't ruin my dreams! It's just, it was going so well and now she's back to hating me! I could almost give up on life at this rate." Scorpius whined.

"Oh, come on Scor. You've got to do _something_." Albus groaned, interrupting what would've been the second lovely rant about Rose and his ~feelings~ of the bright.

"But what is that _something_?" He huffed in irritation.

Albus rolled his eyes. "Scorpius Hyperion Malfoy, I do not give a rat's left arse cheek what you do! Just do something and stop whinging all the time! It's pretty obvious you don't suddenly hate her - either say you're sorry, or say you're not!"

"But I'm not sorry!"

"Then say that!"

"But I don't want to fight with her!"

"Then don't!" He growled as they entered the common room. It was fairly unoccupied this late at night - even Joshua, Max and Alfie had gone up to bed - and they reopened their potions books and took out their half-finished essays around the usual table. "And if you say 'but' _one more time—!"_

"Alright, fine." Scorpius huffed.

Albus cast a suspicious glance around the room. "Look, Scor, I don't think you're getting it so I'll explains why she's so mad."

"Please, enlighten me!" Scorpius declared harshly, and a group of seventh years glanced back at them. Albus shushed him quickly.

"What it is is— I mean-" He ran a hand through his hair. "Rosie's the only one who ever listened to our parents."

Scorpius furrowed his brow. "What? You mean about chores, or something? Always took out the bins on time? What does _that_ have to do with being mad at _me_?"

Albus held up a hand to stop Scorpius from another tirade. "No, about the past and stuff. Y'know, she listened to all their stories about _things_ they did."

"Oh. So, like the rumours?"

Albus sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose. "Scor, I don't want to fight with you. But, it's what she believes. That's why she's pissed off and why she won't talk."

Scorpius swallowed painfully. He felt his jaw clench and saliva thicken. So, this was going to be what he lost friends over again, was it? The stupid past that none of them even witness? "I see."

Albus stayed mute in the silence, watching his friend with agonised eyes.

"And what about you?"

"Wha— me?" Albus couldn't meet his eyes. "I don't know. Don't you believe any of it? Not any of it at all?"

Scorpius, too, found he suddenly couldn't look at Albus. The back of his eyes stung. The letter from his father burned a hole in his pocket.

Softly, he murmured, "I don't know anymore."

* * *

 _So, I do a lot of history and I have a lot of feelings about believing ancient historians. Anyway._

 _This was the longest chapter so far! Phew. It took me soooo long to write, but I hope you all liked it! Do you think Rose and Scorpius are going to make up soon?_

 _Thanks for reading! Please review if you've got time and follow for more. Thanks!_


	15. Stupid

**_Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter_**

 _Hey everyone! Thank you very much to **Guest** (thank you sooo much for your corrections! I'm honestly so dumb about science, apologies everyone!), **catwomannnnn1** , **Guest** (you know, if you consider that a lot of countries don't teach sensitive information in their history until a long time later, I don't think it's that unbelievable that they never taught this kind of thing), and **Guest** for your reviews! School is ramping up intensely right now, so I really, really appreciate everything you have to say. Keep 'em coming!_

 _Enjoy!_

* * *

 _Chapter 15: Stupid_

 _Rose POV_

Scorpius Hyperion Malfoy.

What an idiot.

All that I could do these days was roll my eyes every twenty seconds when I remembered how stupid he was.

Idiotic, uncultured, poorly-read, stupid eejit.

"He's so stupid. Really." I found myself whining to Isabelle for the fifth time in a week.

"Yeah, we know." She sighed, lounging further down in the old sofa we usually occupied in the Common Room. "I mean, you coulda just taken my advice like I suggested but no, that would be too easy!"

I rolled my eyes. I knew her advice. ' _Go and talk to him, you probably just misunderstood!_ ' The same advice I'd given her when she went out with Leo Black, and then Sam Millar, and also with that Aneil guy from Slytherin. But did she listen? Of course not! At least now I know why.

"But it's not that easy! This is something so simple, so fundamental and so completely at odds with who he says he is as a person! I mean, he says he thinks history is so important, but refuses to acknowledge that his own family were involved in some of the worst chapters of modern history!" I made a gross, strangled sound that hurt my throat as I unleashed my anger.

Merlin, he was irritating even when he wasn't being as annoying as he used to be!

"Wow, tell us how you _really_ feel," Lola commented, clearly battling hard to keep her face straight.

I fought to stop from saying something mean about how she wouldn't even know. I could be a bitch, but not _that_ bitchy. I let my head fall back, and closed my eyes. This was not how a Granger-Weasley behaved, and it was certainly not how the daughter of Hermione Granger acted.

"What's this? Ranting about Snakey-boy again?" My eyes snapped open to see the upside-down face of Fred.

I looked up to see Paige and Jasmine's eyes skimming their books far too quickly to be taking anything in.

"Paige? Jas? You told them!?"

"We were talking to Lydia… who said Albus told her…"

"And so we assumed everyone knew." Jasmine finished sheepishly.

"I mean, I'm not shocked," Fred added nonchalantly. "Everyone knew he had a thing for you?"

"What?" I asked. No, they most certainly did not.

"Well," Lola began, putting her divination book _'See Your Way to Through to May_ ' down, "We all thought you hated him too much to say anything."

"For Six years…?"

"You seemed to have six years of hate." Paige shrugged.

"What the… I don't hate him!" I argued back.

Fred sniggered next to me. "You're so dumb. Roxy tells me all the time that I'm going to die alone, but even I'm not as dumb as you."

I opened my mouth to argue back but paused. I tried again. "Roxy tells you you're going to die alone?"

Fred nodded. "Sure. But so's she. You ever seen her?"

I watched him leave with a frown.

"Merlin, he's weird." Jasmine declared. "No offence, Rosie."

"Oh, right." Fred doubled back to face us all again. "Al's outside. He's doing that pacing thing so he must be stressed over a stitch being out of place or whatever."

"Right." I blinked as he walked off again, pausing briefly, and then finally making it back over to where he was sitting with his other fifth-year friends. "No offence taken, Jas. he really is weird."

I stood up and closed my long-abandoned Arithmancy book. Trying to comprehend, never mind retain, anything I read had been disastrous since I fought with Scorpius. Giving the girls a wave, I walked over to the portrait hole.

I mean, it's not like Scorpius and I were anything _serious_. We just went to the Slugclub together a few times. Had that really lovely afternoon in Hogsmeade. Did the rounds together, and hung out in the library.

No, nothing serious. He's just a stupid boy, and I am the daughter of Hermione Granger-Weasley. Boys were no concern of mine.

"Al? What is it this time?"

True to Fred's word, Albus was pacing in front of the Fat Lady's portrait.

"Rosie, finally!"

"Thank god you're here. I thought he was going to drive me dizzy." The Fat Lady muttered from behind me. I shot her a quick apologetic smile before leading Albus off.

"Sorry, Fred took a while to deliver the message." We stopped in the same alcove as ever. I shivered in the chill outside of the warm, cosy common room. "Merlin, how do any Slytherins survive the winter down in the dungeons?"

"What?"

"It's bloody freezing up here, it must be ice cold down there!"

"Oh. Uh, not really. We have a bunch of fires and stuff."

"Oh. Of course."

Albus shook his head minutely. "Anyway. I came here to say that you have to talk to Scorpius."

"E-Excuse me?" I chocked on the air I inhaled.

"Scorpius is going to either jump off the astronomy tower or drown himself in the Great Lake if you two don't makeup at some point. Please, _try_ and talk to him. It's his birthday this week, and he might wish for death if you don't."

"No."

"What?"

"No. You know, the word. Usually indicates the negative. It means that I won't do what you asked me - especially if it's makeup with Scorpius Hyperion Malfoy." I folded my arms smartly across my chest. No means no, and Albus was not going to change my mind.

Albus sniggered. "You know his full name. You like him more than you'll admit." He giggled like a school-boy who'd just been clued in on a rude joke. Pathetic, really.

"Of course I do." How did I know his name again? "It's stupid and overly avant-garde. How could anyone forget it?" That would do.

Albus, still smirking, capitulated. "Fine."

"Anyway, I won't talk to him because he's irresponsible, stupid, and has an utter disregard for everyone who was a victim of his family - which is basically everyone - including Teddy!"

Albus rolled his eyes, and muttered something that sounded suspiciously like 'I knew this was going to happen'.

"I'm sorry?"

"Nothing."

"Go on. Clearly, it's important enough for you to use your voice instead of just thinking it."

"No. It's not, actually." Albus snapped. I could feel my temperature rising and myself leaning in as he wound me up further and further. "I was just saying how I knew that you two were going to fight and I was going to get stuck in the middle! And then what am I going to do - not talk to my best friend or my closest cousin? Great! Just like first year, all over again!"

I swallowed the air in my mouth. It slid down my throat uncomfortably.

Albus Potter, for once in his life, was right. "I'm… sorry, Al."

"'S fine." He mumbled, scuffing at the ground.

I pulled him into a hug, squeezing him like I used to when we were younger, and he made a funny sound every time I did it. Nowadays, he just grunted ' _gerr off_ '.

"Alright then. I promise that I'll think about maybe talking to him. Deal?"

Albus nodded, a half-smile enough to satiate me that I hadn't really pissed him off. "Sounds good."

"I'm sorry, Al. I promise I won't be a bitch, even if I can't bring myself to forgive his ignorant, self-centred, archaism-loving—"

"All right!" He held up his hands as I felt another rant coming on. "I get it. You think he's a div. Me too, sometimes. Just give him a chance. He hasn't heard the stories we have, he doesn't know anything! Like, at all. It's like if we found out that secretly my dad was an enemy of the state, or your mum was one of those irritating campaigners she's always complaining about - but one hundred times worse."

"Well," I folded my arms over my chest again, "our parents would never be so stupid to do that. There's the difference."

Albus scoffed. "Whatever. Anyway, I've got to go back downstairs. Just—" He seemed to change his mind halfway through the sentence, "thanks for promising."

"I'll do my best."I waved him off as he retreated down the stairs back to the dungeons, and shivered in the chilly air.

Fine, so maybe I was being a little bit harsh. Scorpius Malfoy was still from a terrible family, though.

* * *

Transfiguration was my favourite subject.

 _Was_.

That boy had the ability to make many things happen when he walked into a room. People turned to look at him. The people who recognised him gave him looks so cold the room temperature went down. The average level of attractiveness went up. And the amount of awkwardness he generated made you cringe from second-hand embarrassment for weeks.

Like today, when he spilt ink all over his own book, and then instead of moping it up with a spell, he tried with paper towels, and then he tried to remove them with magic but it didn't work, and finally, after several minutes, the mess was gone. But being angry at him meant I couldn't even get a proper look, or acknowledge his stupid clumsiness with a sly comment. I just had to stare at the pages in front of me, and hope Professor Henrich would do it for me.

And so now, I can't even sit in my favourite lesson in peace.

I picked at the new potatoes on my plate. I'd already eaten the rich, delicious beef but I couldn't bring myself to eat the potatoes. Mum would be gobsmacked. But dad would be proud, at least.

"Hogwarts to Rosie?" I saw Jasmine's hand flash before my face.

"Oh, hi!" My mood immediately picked up as Jasmine, Isabelle and Lola slid into their seats all around me.

"Rosie, we have some _news for you_!"

"What? What is it?" My heart immediately started racing. And I don't know what exactly I was hoping for, but I knew that there was one piece of news that might set my heart alight.

"Well," Isabelle began, pulling the dish of tomato soup towards herself, "we were in Astrology just now—"

"You know how its just me, Isabelle, Lucy, Mia Clark, Max Flint and that Alfie guy, right?"

"Sounds cosy." I grimaced. I hate being in small classes; it meant gossip was all the rifer.

"So, anyway," Isabelle continued, "it turns out that Mia Clarke and Max Flint are going to the ball together!"

I choked on my pumpkin juice. "S-Sorry?" I gasped, as Lola thumped me on the back. "T-They are?"

"Yeah!" Isabelle nodded enthusiastically.

"The two of them look _very_ cosy together in class. They're all sitting together, he's got his arm around her chair…"

"Well," I heaved a sigh, wincing as the air tickled my raw throat, "I didn't think that Max had the ability to stay with one girl for longer than three days."

"Yeah, but also the fact that she was after Scorpius about two weeks ago." Isabelle raised a dark eyebrow.

"We thought you'd be interested. You know, to know that bit-"

"Language!"

"-ch won't be in your way anymore." Jasmine finished, looking pointedly at Lola. "Come on, she isn't a nice girl, we all know that."

Lola sighed, and before she even opened her mouth, gave up the fight. Mia Clarke was not a well-liked girl in these circles.

"Who isn't nice?" Paige asked, wandering over to them.

"Mia Clarke who - it turns out - is now with Max Flint."

"What a pair of wankers!" Paige snorted, tucking into the same soup Isabelle was eating. 'Oh, this is good, isn't it?"

"I thought you and he had a thing?" I asked Paige, surprised by her lack of response.

"Oh, no. That'd be Joshua. But I told him where he could stick it when I found out he'd been getting with Evie Lee at the same time as me."

"Good for you!" Lola declared loudly. Paige, for as outgoing as she was, was intensely private about her love life. It was only after she came back to the common room one evening with a pretty intense blush that we found out that Rhys Owens had asked her to the ball - and she'd accepted.

"And you're doing the best with getting a date for the ball. Merlin, this is so annoying!" Isabelle whined.

I nodded, restraining myself from launching into a tirade about a certain blonde haired by again. I settled for watching him walk down the Slytherin table with Alfie to join his friends. He looked… happy. Was Albus lying to me….? No, Albus never lied. He was terrible at it, anyway.

"Rosie?" Lola nudged my shoulder.

"Yep?"

"We're saying who our ideal dates would be. Louis Weasley, Max Flint, Theo Russell," she pointed to Jasmine, Isabelle and Paige in order, "how about you?"

"Can I- Wait." I rounded on Isabelle. "Max Flint? Really"

Isabelle flashed me a winning smile "He is very attractive. And good at art."

"He's really nice to me when we're the first ones to Care of Magical Creatures, too." Lola chimed in.

I blinked heavily. "O…kay."

"Don't think you can talk your way out of it that easily, Rose Granger-Weasley. We know you still didn't answer." Jasmine smirked at me, and I felt my heart sink slightly.

"Fine… Scorpius or Jake Andrews…" I mumbled, suddenly filled with the desire to stuff new potatoes in my face. I didn't dare look up to meet anyone's eyes.

Lola cleared her throat. "Well, I guess I'd pick Louis Weasley. Actually, I quite like Alfie. Oh, or James Potter - he's nice to me, too. Even Albus is quite cute."

"Albus? No offence but..." Paige intoned.

I winced as the conversation swiftly diverted into discussing which of my cousins was the most elegable bachelor. _Again_.

* * *

By the time Friday came around, the pressure of my promise to Al was weighing heavily on me. Yeah, I should've said something in Transfiguration. I probably should've said something to him in Potions too when Al was boring holes in my head with the intensity of his stare. But I didn't. Finally, I'd come to realise that I just couldn't handle the disappointment. Because as soon as I'd been excited to discover that the real Scorpius Malfoy was only awkward, a bit of a creeper and actually pretty charming, I also discovered that he was naive, unwilling to have his views challenged, and stupid. And as mum always says, if you find someone isn't up to your standards then don't bother wasting your time on them. Besides, mum would know. She chose Dad as her first boyfriend, and they were meant for each other.

There's more to life than men.

I sighed and looked down at the towel clutched in my hands. I felt achy and stiff from Quidditch practice this evening. It's not long now until the next game... Ravenclaw could be tough to beat, but we might be able to pull it off, if Fred can just get his act together in time.

"Ahh!" I screamed shrilly as the stone step below me came flying towards my face.

"You Alright there? You want to be a bit more careful." A young looking ghost floated over to me. She can't have been more than thirteen years old, and her heavy Welsh accent hung over every word she said. "Careful, don't watch where you're goin' and you might end up like me."

I nodded. There was a kind of mournful undertone when she spoke that made me have no doubt that she meant exactly what she said.

"Right. Thanks." I brushed off my knees, wincing at the slightly stuffed skin of my knees. I turned to go, but frowned and looked back to the girl still hovering where I'd fallen. "Sorry— Who are you?"

"Oh, yes. I'm Alys, but my tower is occupied right now. A boy I'm friends with is there right now."

I frowned deeper. As she spoke, something Scorpius said came back to me.

"You don't mean the Owlery, do you?"

"Yes, that's my 'ouse."

"Then... you know Scorpius Malfoy, don't you?"

She nodded, shimmering almost transparent in the candlelight.

"I do, in fact." She took an uninterested look down the six floors below her. It made my stomach turn just thinking about it. "He's the one in there right now. He didn't look very 'appy."

I walked down a few steps to get closer to the young girl. "What do you mean?"

"Well, I didn't stop 'im, but he was carrying a lot o' papers in 'is arms."

My heart seemed to burst and shrivel at the same time. I didn't have a choice. "You said that he's in the Owlery tower, right?"

"That's the one."

"Thank you, Alys."

"No problem. Don't really know what I've done, though."

I was gone before I had time to explain it to her. Down the staircases and across the corridors; down even more stairs until my muscles felt like they were crying and out into the cold night air and the long wooden bridge that led to the Owlery. The air misted before my face and bit at my lungs.

There was no one else on the bridge. My thoughts echoed in my head along with each noisy step I took.

This was the right thing to do. Dad always said it. Don't turn your back on a friend in need. And even if it was Scorpius Malfoy, he was Al's best friend, and it seemed like he was in need. If Alys was to believed, anyway.

The Owlery tower is tall, and remarkably luminescent. Now more than ever it seemed to shine in the moonlight as though even if I did turn my back, I'd still be haunted by the eerie glow of the tower. It's moments like this when I wonder if destiny really does exist - or, if I've finally gone crazy. As I walked around the tower to the door that opens to the cavernous room that sits below the owl's home, I took deep breaths to still my heart. That's what mum always says to do when you're nervous, and I can't imagine a time in her life when she wasn't put together.

My hand found the cool metal of the door handle easily in the dim light of the moon. It opened with a quiet click.

There was Scorpius Malfoy, sitting amongst wooden crates and newspaper clippings and candlelight, eyes rimmed slightly red and hands trembling with a newspaper in it.

'Sirius Black Announced Dead. Guilt Cleared' July, 1996.

"Scorpius?" I didn't dare call his name in more than a whisper. It was the first time I'd ever noticed his eyes not follow me when I entered a room. He didn't even notice me until I was crouching before him, hand hovering above his knee.

"R-Rose? What're you doing here?"

Really, why was I there? "Alys told me you were here. And uh..." It suddenly hit me. I had a thousand reasons to plausibly be there, but only one mattered. "She said you looked upset." It didn't even sound like my voice when I said it.

"Oh. Right." He sat upright and immediately tried to cover up the papers he had. Stacks of them sat to his left and right-hand side, all to do with the war and his family and that bloody, deadly past...

"You don't have to put them away for me, you know."

As ever, he smiled. Well, he tried. And it didn't reach anywhere near his eyes. "Thanks. I was just... y'know. Light reading."

I laughed lightly. "Okay."

I tried to tear my eyes away from the picture of my parents when they were young, smiling brightly. "If you want, we can go through them together?"

I couldn't say why I offered it. Even as I said the words, I was hoping that he might say no. But as his grey eyes widened slightly and he rubbed his fair cheeks from the light tear tracks that had fallen down them. Oh, he really was very handsome. Even now.

"That sounds great. Thanks."

He shuffled along on his spot on a cushion that he'd quiet obviously enlarged. I sat next to him in the snug inlet, and in a show of goodwill, spread my towel over our legs.

"What is that?" He sniggered, a hiccough still in his voice.

"I'm trying to make a blanket." I rolled my eyes, but cast a quick enlargement charm on it to make it a better attempt.

"That's better."

I tried not to blush at our proximity. Not because I'm a silly schoolgirl with raging hormones, but because anyone would feel the effects of being jammed next to someone so handsome who also happened to smell really nice. Like warm caramel, and... polish?

I closed my eyes to stop the rapidly descending train of thoughts.

"So, where are we?"

Scorpius cleared his throat, but he couldn't rid his voice of that distinct thickness. "Right. I was reading this one. July 5th, 1996."

He took the top paper off the pile, the one he'd been holding with trembling hands when I came in.

There was Sirius Black's face, the man for whom James had been given a name. My uncle's godfather.

"I knew that Bellatrix killed him. I knew she killed a lot of people. I just didn't know... so many..."

It was almost as though the person sitting next to me wasn't the boy I'd despised for five years. This wasn't a robotic, smug, smarmy, test-acing machine. He was real. He was human. He could cry, he could be sad, and his voice could be reduced to barely above a whisper with emotion. It unnerved me.

I didn't know what to say, so I said nothing.

He handed the paper over to me, and nodded to the pile to my left. I put the picture of the raging, chained up Sirius on top of a paper detailing the Lestrange's breakout from prison. I almost didn't want to know the details. But my eyes lingered on the photo of Sirius. That wasn't the man I knew. The man that Uncle Harry had photos of in his house who looked charming, charismatic and always smiling. Uncle Harry told stories of a man who was brave in the face of repression, who diligently served his time. No mention of the fury in this Sirius' eyes, or how he fought so violently against his bonds...

"What's this one?"

"It's... the first time my grandfather went to Azkaban."

I scanned my eyes over the page. July, 1996 again. Lucius Malfoy went to Azkaban. The photograph of him was nothing if not opposite to Sirius' this man was broken, dead on the inside. He wasn't fighting or trying to escape. His soul maybe already been sucked away by the dementors. It made me shiver.

Malfoy looked at me, and I shook my head quickly, improvising. "Oh, I was just shocked by how similar you look."

Scorpius frowned. "And now more than ever, I wish I didn't look like them all."

I sighed. "It's okay. I often wish I didn't look so much like mum. It's not the same, I know, and I probably don't understand it. But the pressure..."

"It's so much sometimes, right?"

I nodded, and took the paper from him. "Come on. Let's move on."

'Hogwarts Attack Leaves Student Comatose.' December, 1996.

I looked sideways at Scorpius. He frowned at the paper. "What's this got to do with the Malfoys?"

"Who gave you this pile?"

He shrugged. "It was in the library under the list of relevant Malfoy papers... It wasn't a mistake, D'you think?" He rounded his grey eyes on me; so wide and so pleading.

No. I knew it wasn't. "I... let's go to the next one, shall we?"

If I knew what was coming next, I knew where he'd find his answer.

"Alright."

He passed me the paper, showing a twirling, shivering necklace hovering in midair. I knew this story: Draco Malfoy made multiple murder attempts over that year, one of which included my father. It's hard to forgive someone who tried to kill your dad.

'Albus Dumbledore Dead'. May, 1997.

It always hurt to read it, every time. Albus Dumbledore was a sacred figure in my family - both extended, and amongst my parents. He shaped who both they and Uncle Harry were. He's the namesake of Al. And, if I remember correctly, Draco Malfoy was the reason he was dead...

"What's with this one, too? I don't get it."

Mum and dad had this article clipped out and in a folder I found when I was younger at home. I knew where he was looking.

"How about down here?"

I pointed to the second to last paragraph of the article.

'Unconfirmed sources from inside Hogwarts point to a particular student, namely, Draco Malfoy, who has also been accused of other attacks on students throughout the years. He and the rest of the Malfoy Family have recently disappeared but leave a long list of alleged crimes behind them. However, Hogwarts has yet to release any official statement on the topic."

I felt him take in a sharp breath.

"So... you mean to say that someone accused my dad of all this and just printed it?"

I almost lost my shit completely. "I'm sorry... what?"

"'Unconfirmed sources'. My dad wasn't even seventeen yet!"

"But _my_ dad was a victim of one of those attacks. He knows what happened to him, and to the other girl, and then what happened with Dumbledore..."

"What happened, then?"

"Well... dad drank a spiked love potion. That necklace was cursed. And Severus Snape killed Dumbledore, but your dad let in the people who attacked Hogwarts that day."

His eyes bored into mine for a long time. Almost as though he was trying to decide what reality was and if it even existed anymore.

"Seriously? You mean, that's really true?"

I shrugged. My mind wandered back to that picture of Sirius and the picture of Scorpius' granddad. "Well, it's what I've been told. But I do know for sure that your dad didn't actually kill Dumbledore. Uncle Harry's firm on that one."

"Okay. Alright."

He passed me the paper without another look at the front-page article.

"It's going to be okay, Scorpius."

He looked at me with another one of those heartbreaking smiles that didn't even reach the tips of his mouth. "That's easy for you to say. You don't have to go through papers and learn about tragedies that kind of feel like your fault. You get to see how much of a hero your parents are."

Time skipped quickly to 1998. And there was the event that made me hate the Malfoy family so much when I was younger. The massacre at Malfoy Manner.

'Confirmed Deaths at Wiltshire Residence.' April, 1998.

"This isn't..." his eyes deadened as he scanned further down the article. "This is my house, isn't it?"

I scanned it too. And my eyes grew in surprise. Two dead? One goblin, one snatcher? Evidence of the Dark Lord and snake bites on the victims..?

This wasn't tens of people slaughtered. This wasn't organised killing. That was an attack that happened to be in the Malfoy Manner. So where did the story come from? Why did Dad tell me about it?

"I don't believe it. People _died_ /in my house?" He mumbled, the repulsion evident on his face.

I slid the paper across from his knees to mine. "Yes, but it looks like it was just a one-off attack. Only two deaths."

"'Only'?" He dragged a hand down his face.

"Sorry— I just mean that it wasn't anything your family did. Here— 'muggle neighbours reported sightings of thick, black smoke issuing from the house late at night, before more reports from nearby wizards confirmed sightings of the Death Eaters.' That means that your family probably didn't kill anyone—

"—have you heard about great-auntie Bellatrix?"

I gave him a stern look. "I mean your grandparents and your dad. Anyone other than that barely matters. And you're certainly nothing like your great-aunt."

He blinked at me like a confounded child. "Thank you."

"You're welcome. That's definitely one of the best compliments I've ever given."

He chuckled - not a laugh, but at least it wasn't hollow.

More newspapers passed. Of the battle of Hogwarts and the Malfoy's famous 'disappearance'. Of their reemergence months later and subsequent imprisonment.

"Father never told me he went to prison..."

"Only incarceration. He was never sentenced."

"I don't know how, at this rate."

I didn't mention that I silently agreed. But by the time of the sentencing, Draco Malfoy was newly engaged and had fully rejected his past beliefs and way. He indebted himself to the Ministry of Magic and tied himself to their work. His parents took the sentences, and Draco Malfoy walked free. Honestly, I could see why. He didn't look like the monster he'd been almost created to become. He was a kid in a dark, dangerous world - just like Uncle Harry, and mum and dad. All the stories I'd heard him about him being utterly vile didn't end up with this...

"I feel pretty educated, now. And I still hate myself and this world."

I cocked a vague grin. Not because I enjoyed his suffering, but because I was happy to see his change.

"Yeah, the world sucks. But you don't. That's where the difference is." I said to him.

He sighed, and handed the paper to me. So, that kid was Draco Malfoy?

Maybe I had been wrong, too.

"Oh, look." I looked over to see him smiling down at a few tiny lines of writing on the back pages of a paper. November, 1999.

' _Draco Lucius Malfoy and Astoria Latona Greengrass announced their marriage yesterday evening in Wiltshire_.'

"There's not much there."

"No, but it's still nice to see something about mum, at least." He couldn't seem to tear his eyes away from the two tiny lines.

"Yeah..." But I had nothing to say. What could I say? Was I really an awful person?

I was looking out the windows when I finally heard the papers rustling and saw him reach for the final paper in the pile.

The front page only talked about the Wizarding Prizes that year, nothing special, but as soon as he saw the date I watched his face drop and he immediately skimmed to the obituaries section. August, 2019.

'Astoria Letona Greengrass died, aged 38, on August 31st, 2019. Her husband and young son survived her.'

I remembered that. It was hard not to remember. Scorpius has almost been expelled for duelling - with Al, of all people. I remember thinking that he was so stupid. Duelling in Hogwarts was dumb; hexing your friend in the Main Hall was even dumber. But then we all found out about his mum...

I was so cruel. Even when I heard about his fights with his roommates, the cruel things his other housemates said to him and how he was barely allowed time to go to the funeral... I never said a thing. I didn't act like a reasonable human being back to him, when he'd never done a thing to me but irrationally get on my bad side.

"You know," his voice was quiet and thin, "I don't even remember reading this before."

I stayed quiet again. What could I say?

"She deserved more than just two lines. Anyone does, but mum especially did."

"I'm sure she was a wonderful woman." I muttered, unsure of myself. Suddenly the cold air felt suffocating.

"Of course she was. She was my mum."

I felt a shiver down my spine as the thought occurred to me - my mum would've had a whole newspaper dedicated to her memory. Scorpius' mum only got one single line in the back of some issue about insignificant prizes only given out to make a few old wizards feel clever.

But I had nothing to say again. What could I say? I wracked my brain for any mention of ever heard of his mum. She was a Greengrass; they weren't an insignificant family.

Wait... hadn't mum once mentioned how Daphne Greengrass was one of the few Slytherins to fight in the war?

"I heard that her sister fought on our side in the war. I'm sure your mum could've done if she was there."

"Oh, aunt Daphne?" He shook his head. "I wouldn't know. We haven't spoken since the funeral."

I was frozen in shock, and a burning shame crept up my cheeks. I wanted to make him feel better. But this... this was akin to torture. Watching my cousin's best friend be reminded how little he had in this world.

"I mean, I've still got dad..." he mumbled, looking up. But by the bitter undertone in his voice and the way he swallowed hard, I could tell he wasn't even secure in that anymore.

I was torn. This was my fault. But he also needed to know.

"I'm... I'm sorry. I didn't know this would be so hard..."

He looked at me with slightly red eyes and a bemused expression. "Really? You didn't know? You thought my family were mass murderers. What did you think this would be, a walk in the park?"

"No, no I—"

"Rose, I get it. You think I'm stupid for not understanding about the role my family played in the past. That's fine. But now what have I got? My father was the only one I had left, and I'm not even sure I can look at him now, either."

"But, you don't—"

"I don't what?" He asked, standing and pacing in the dim candlelight. His lithe body cast ugly shadows on the grey brick walls, stretching up and up to the high ceiling and engulfing the whole tower in his misery. I knew better than to answer. "You know, he was just getting over mum's death, and now he's going to have to deal with a son who's never quite sure if he tried to kill the father of the girl he—" He stopped abruptly, panting heavily. The firelight cast dancing shows on his back. "Forget it. Just go back to your perfect life, Rose. And Merlin forbid you ever find out the dark past of your family." He turned to her, and his face was almost hidden in the dark, expression hard and set, and his order absolute. His eyes alone, pale and silvery, glowed ominously.

In that moment, I could understand how his father, looking oh-so-similar, had once been in the clutches of evil.

I swallowed difficultly. My mouth had never been drier. "Scorpius, please, I—"

"Just leave."

Sheer waves of fury and despair mingled in a toxic perfume rolled off him. I felt tears welling in my eyes. And they started falling before I could stop it. I'd never seen him so angry before, and this was my fault. I wanted to do anything to make him happy again but as I looked at his angry face, mouth set and grey eyes alight with fury, there was nothing I could do. I'd caused all of this, and as the tears dropped down from my eyes, I realised that it had to be my job to fix it. I had to.

The tears almost froze on my face as I ran across the wooden bridge. The forest below it cast ugly shadows up the cliff face and I found myself running faster than usual, my muffled sobs lost to the wind.

The castle was almost empty. But the warm air didn't give me any comfort. The empty silence of the wide corridors echoes with the sounds of my cries. I felt humiliated and ashamed. Granger-Weasley women didn't cry. They fixed their problems. I stopped my limping hurry through the corridors to steal myself, using the wall to lean on. This was what pain was; this was how it felt. My chest - like my very heart had inexplicably just vanished. I couldn't even understand why it hurt so much. I forced my hands over my eyes to stem the flow of tears by force if nothing else. And the clamouring, hiccoughing ache in my chest quietened, and then I forced harried breaths over the top. I slid to the ground, and looked up to the ceiling.

In my wildest dreams, I had never expected that Scorpius Malfoy would ever make me cry about anything other than the sheer frustration he caused me.

I don't know how long I sat there. Finally, I managed to drag myself up along the cool sandstone of the wall, and stretched out some shaky legs. Rubbing the sticky skin of my face into what would hopefully be normality, I carried on back on my way to where I knew I had to go. I just hoped that by the time I reached the dungeons, my eyes wouldn't be so red anymore.

I waited at the strange emerald door for a Slytherin student to come or go. I'd never done this before. I'd always been the one to wait for Al to come and fix my problems. The pit of my stomach filled with shame again. The door flickered bright green in the torchlight, a mother of pearl sheen on the surface making it look almost silver at times.

I could've lost myself for hours in my thoughts. Of how wrong I had been, how stupidly I'd acted.

Giggling echoed down the corridor. I frowned. Their voices sounded far too deep for that kind of giggling.

I looked up to see Alfie Campbell and some boy from Ravenclaw. Their faces dropped immediately back to neutral when they saw me. Oh course, a Gryffindor in Slytherin territory wasn't welcome even to this day.

"Hello, Rose. What's wrong?"

"I Uh... could you get Al for me, please?"

"Yeah, yeah of course." He eyed me suspiciously. "Not Scorpius?"

I shook my head and bit my lip to stop myself from crying again. Rose Granger-Weasley does not cry.

"Alright. I'll get him now. Um, bye, Oliver."

The Ravenclaw waved back and promptly left the dungeons without another word.

"I'll get him now."

I nodded and just about managed a quick smile.

"Rosie?" Al stepped back through the door with a confused look on his face, a Defensive Spells book under his arm and rubbing the sleep from his eyes. Same Al as always. "Dumbledore's beard, you look dreadful. Your face is all red and blotchy an-"

"Al, I did a terrible thing." I just about managed to get out before I couldn't keep back the tears anymore.

I flung my arms around him and felt him stiffen in surprise.

"Uh... you didn't kill someone, did you...?"

"N-No, you idiot."

"Then what did you do?"

"I-I talked to S-Scorpius. B-but I just made him r-really angry and, and now I don't know what to do!"

I felt so powerless. Crying on my cousin's shoulder, not even being able to get a coherent sentence out.

"Why? What happened?"

"He— he went to the l-library and got — got a load of articles about his family. And— and now he's furious and it's all my-my fault!"

I hugged tighter to Al, for fear that if I let go, he might leave me, too.

"Okay. I knew this was going to happen... just, you go back to Gryffindor Tower and find James. He'll know what to do. We'll sort out Scorpius, don't worry."

"W-We?"

"Yeah. Well I have to take Max because he's dealt with this before. Oh, and Alfie. Alfie's nice. Wait but then Joshua has the best foresight... So I guess we're all going."

I chuckled despite my tears into his shoulder.

"Come on, Rosie. It's not the end of the world. You might've just been a bit... misguided in what you did, that's all."

"Shut up, Al. I know I was stupid."

He paused. "Yeah. I love you Rosie but yeah. A little bit."

He hugged me back awkwardly until the tears finally stopped.

"Sorry, your shoulder's all wet."

Al gave me a half-smile and shrugged. "Now, go back and find James."

"Our James? Really?" James was known in the family for being roguish, overly-confident and always smiling - particularly in the wrong situations. I failed to see how he could help.

"Yeah, well, he's surprisingly good at cheering people up. When Roxanne's not around, he's a good second-best."

I nodded, happy for any advice at this point. From all the tangled mess of emotions, I could tell that shame was one of them.

"And we'll go and deal with Scor. Hold on." He disappeared back through the emerald door again and I was left alone, wondering where exactly it'd all gone wrong.

From the moment I started liking Scorpius Malfoy, I suppose.

* * *

 _Ahhhhhhh_

 _Anyway_

 _Thanks for reading! Please follow for more and review if you've got time. Thanks!_


	16. Together We Fall

**_Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter_**

 _Hey everyone! Sorry I'm a little late this week. I hope you're all keeping warm as the bitter winter weather draws in! (Or, if you're in the southern hemisphere: I'm jealous of your good weather. So god-damn jealous)._

 _Thank you to AMBERJANUS, MLMarint, Crystal Jupitar (Hello! Welcome to the party!), and Guest for your reviews! Seriously, reading your reviews makes me forget that I'm freezing my arse off every time I go outside. Thank you all so, so much._

 _Enjoy!_

* * *

 _Chapter 16: Together We Fall_

Some days, you just feel grumpy no matter what. You wake up grumpy, eat breakfast grumpy, and mope around under the grey cloudy sky until you go to bed, still grumpy.

Well, today, Scorpius was having one of those days. Except instead of grumpy, he felt a little nauseous too.

"Scor..." Albus asked gently, "Are you... going to open that?"

They both looked at the little box on Scorpius' bed. It had lain there, untouched for hours, immaculately wrapped in green paper with a silver bow proudly sitting on the top. Surprisingly, it'd always been his father that was the good one at wrapping presents.

Scorpius' frown deepened at the thought. His father. The liar. The criminal. The near-murderer.

"No." His jaw was so tense he could barely speak.

This has to be the worst birthday he would ever have. It _had_ to be.

"You want us to get you anything?"

"Butterbeer from the kitchens? Butterscotch tart?" Joshua offered, sitting alongside Max in deadly silence.

"No. Thanks." Scorpius didn't lift his eyes from the box. He could see the three of them moving around, looking at each other, gesturing, even, out of the corner of his eyes. They had planned to spend the day by the lake, just lounging around and forgetting about schoolwork. But then last night happened. Instead, it had been a very, very long day. He knew he was the one making everything so awkward, but he didn't care. It had all gone so wrong, so fast. About 24 hours ago, he'd been happy enough, but now...

He really didn't know what came over him. But Rose and Albus' constant veiled allusions had been plaguing him so incessantly, and with feverish desire drawing him to the newspaper store in the library, there was no escape from the endless pit of bad news it held. And to have Rose witness it...

He heaved a sigh again to try and disperse the hot tide of rising anger inside.

"Scorpius?" Max came to sit at the foot of his bed, just out of fist range. "You should probably either move it or open it. If you don't, you're stuck in limbo."

Scorpius couldn't bare to meet Max's eyes. He'd been pretty cruel to him last night, and when they'd all only been trying to help...

He felt bad, but he couldn't apologise. Not yet. If he opened his mouth for too long, he might be sick.

That stupid box. Something so small surely couldn't do that much damage. And yet, he worried that if he opened the box, cursed like Pandora's, all the hope he had left in the world might fly away. And he was no fool like Pandora.

Scorpius picked up the box wordlessly, and he heard Joshua suck in a breath. He didn't bother to look back at him. And when Scorpius shoved the box carelessly down to the bottom of his trunk, he heard Joshua exhale loudly.

"That's better. It'll help, promise."

Scorpius nodded, and gathered up his pyjamas from under his pillow.

"I'm going to get ready for bed. I'll see you in a moment."

When the door clicked shut behind him, he realised that all he really wanted to do was cry, and hug his mum. And he couldn't do either of those things.

This, Scorpius was assured, had to be the worst birthday ever.

* * *

It took four whole days of the box being at the bottom of his trunk, glaring in his mind like a hot coal, before he finally caved. The sun was hiding away on a chilly mid-November morning. The others were all in class, and so Scorpius has the room to himself. It burned like a glowing ember in his hand as he touched it; forbidden, and painful. Almost neatly fitting the size of the palm it sat there, unabashed in the green-cast light from the Great Lake's murky waters; the paper smooth at the corners and shiny. Untying the knot carefully, he slid a finger along the join in the paper. Stiff, just like the parchment in his dad's office.

True to his assumptions, underneath the paper was a box, this one much older and maybe velvet and creased terribly at the hinges. Under it was a fat slip of parchment; a letter folded so many times it was almost wider than it was deep.

Hesitantly, he popped the lid open. Inside, shinier and brighter than the box would ever let you believe it could be was a... hairpin? A broach for your hair? Scorpius didn't know. He ran his fingers along the teeth of the comb and the shimmering green jewels of the top. Emeralds, light and dark, cut like fine leaves and in loopy writing across the base of the arrangement read ' _Ad Pacem, cum Virtutem_ '.

'Towards Peace, with Courage'.

Scorpius could help but snort at how ludicrous those words sounded to him, now all of times. How could either side of his family ever have strived for peace, when they had been so cruel for so long to all those around them?

He traced a finger over the fine letters. Had his mother been as unspeakably cruel as his father? Had his mother participated in the purging of those just like Joshua - his friends? The thought made him sick. Why was it that everything he once knew had to come crashing down around him? Why now?

"Is that your mum's?"

Scorpius shrugged wordlessly.

"Y'know, Dad always told me that he thought your mum was nice. She never hung around with the Death Eat-"

Albus attempted to swallow his words again the moment he realised he'd said them.

"'S fine."

"- she never hung around with _them_ , anyway. Said she was always nice to mum, and that it was a whole thing when your parents got married because she refused to treat muggle-borns and 'blood-traitors' badly."

Scorpius looked up from the small hairpin. "Really?"

Albus sat down on Scorpius' bed, opposite him. "Yeah. Well, I mean, it's all hearsay. But yeah, I heard that there was a big argument with your grandparents and parents on the wedding day. Mum was invited, you see."

"She was?"

Albus scratched the back of his head awkwardly. "Yeah. She didn't go, though. Solidarity with dad."

Scorpius nodded his head, wordlessly. He didn't blame all of Albus' family for hating his family, now.

But even so, even despite knowing all the grotesque monsters in the family's closet, he couldn't help but blame them all for hating his dad.

"Are you going to open the letter?"

Scorpius looked down at the fat wodge of parchment. The hairpin felt heavy in his hand. It looked ancient, the pins slightly rusted here and there, but the green gemstones shone brightly.

"No." He quickly put the pin back in the box and snapped it shut. "He's using the parchment from his office again, it's probably nothing important."

He couldn't help the bitterness in his voice, and he didn't even try to disguise it. He felt that angry, that upset, and for once, he was going to let it show.

"Want me to read it for you?"

Scorpius shook his head, wrapping the box neatly in a pair of old socks and placing it with care in his trunk, then chucking the folded parchment alongside it.

"Okay." Albus bit his lip like he always did when he wanted to say something more. Scorpius was glad that he stayed silent.

* * *

 _The fire roared furiously, it seemed to be burning all around him. He felt hot, and sticky with sweat. The crackling sound all frowned out by the cries of not one, but hundreds. Scorpius looked around. The windows were wet with rain. And the walls were crimson red. He felt small; so, so small._

This wasn't how it usually went.

 _The cries were strongest from behind him. He looked over his shoulder, and that familiar burst of deadly adrenaline hit him. Blood in his mouth, panic on his mind. The carpet felt like needles between his toes. He walked forwards, and tried to reach out for the doorknob. It ghosted his fingers and burned the skin. He looked at his hand; chubby little fingers now red tipped, as though dipped in sticky red jam. Determined this time, he tried again. Still nothing. One more time, with gumption. The burning handle achingly hot beneath his hands._

 _The door swung open._

 _And now, he was tall again. Flying high over the-_

Oh Merlin, no.

 _There wasn't just his dying mother, and there wasn't just his distraught father. There was an army of ghostly souls, people with slit throats and blood dribbling from their mouths. Creatures with knives in their chest and disfigurements that left them beyond recognition. Pulling; they were all pulling st his mother's head as his father pulled her back. There was a dead menace in his eyes the likes of which Scorpius had never seen before. His sleeves rolled up for the first time ever; there, a black skull with a serpentine tongue protruding. He knew what that meant now._

 _And there was his mother, pulled in between. Her skin tearing and pulling in a gross echo of primaries ritual. She was the one crying, this time. She, and the choir of the wronged dead. Scorpius could feel himself screaming, adding to the cacophony of sounds._

 _The skin of his mother gave a neauseating rip._

And then, he awoke.

"Scor? Scorpius!?" He felt three hands roughly shaking him.

Alfie and Albus each shaking him on opposing sides, Joshua standing concerned at the foot of his bed, and Max sat back watching as though he'd seen it all before.

"What the hell was that?!" Albus asked, winding himself up into a tizzy.

"I just had _that_ dream. But worse. It- it was horrible..." He felt heat prick at his eyes. "So many dead souls, all trying to take my mother. And I didn't even recognise my father."

A single, burning hot tear crawled down his almost numb skin. He whipped it away, hopefully before anyone noticed. A bubble of shame rose uncomfortably through his chest.

Wordlessly, Alfie retreated to his bed side table and offered his hand to Scorpius on his return. A handkerchief lay there, all neatly folded in a pristine little square, embroidered green around the edges with the crest of his house in the corner. ' _Together we fall_ '. The irony of Alfie's house having a far less hopefull motto than his sturck him bitterly. How on earth could they possibly any worse than his?

"I know. It's tough, at first." Max offered, his voice thin and brittle across the cold night air. It was curt, and no more than Scorpius deserved right now, but it did help.

"What Max is trying to say is, it's going to take time, but you'll be back to normal soon." Even though he knew Joshua was trying to help, it still frustrated him. He was never going to be normal again. He was the son of a murderer and a sympathiser. The sole child of a family bathed in blood. He could never be normal again. How could he? What right did he have to a typical life, after all this?

"I swear, this is why you should've been in Hufflepuff." Max sighed, and went back to bed.

Joshua rolled his eyes. "He is right, though. You're more Hufflepuff than Slytherin, I swear."

Scorpius watched him go back to his bed without really seeing it; so vacant that he wasn't even thinking. Just, being.

Albus shifted slightly. "They're right, though."

Scorpius blinked vacantly. "What?"

"You're so full of pain for people you don't know, and you're trying to answer for crimes that are long dead." Alfie supplied, more eloquently that Albus could ever manage. "Your father was never convicted and thus never went to Azkaban. Your grandparents, however, did. They were the ones to pay, and so they have. Even if there were others who should have suffered before their deaths, you cannot change that. And your father, complicit though he may have been, has bloodless hands."

"Really." Albus nodded. "Even mum and dad knew it wasn't fair for him to be stuck in Azkaban. You can't try to repent for crimes that aren't yours to repent over."

"But they still happened! People still suffered, and it's all my family's fault. I have to fix it somehow!"

"No, you don't."

"Put yourself first, Scor. For once."

Scorpius played with the exquisite embroidery under his fingers. Knowing Alfie, he probably handmade this.

"But those people still suffered. I have to do _something_."

"Sure, you can do something. You can try to do things for the future. But the past is already closed, far behind you. Don't get caught up in the past, Scorpius. You'll lose yourself in a world that does not belong to you."

With that, Alfie left, hopping into his bed and pulling his curtains closed.

Scorpius sighed, running a hand over his sticky forehead. Albus was watching him cautiously; Scorpius could feel his remarkably bright green eyes watching him. "I know he's probably right, but how can I even look my father in the eyes ever again? Knowing that he's not who I thought he was."

"Parents can be two different people to their children; their parental figure, and the people they are outside of the family. Your dad is still your dad and the man you've always known, it's just that now you know about the life he once led before your family."

Scorpius said nothing, merely playing with the handkerchief.

"I know that it's disappointing. And maybe it will take time to heal over this. But remember that your father is not still the man he once was," breaking off and dropping to a barely audible whisper, he said, "think of Max."

Scorpius felt shame welling up again. He really needed to apologise to Max. "I suppose."

"Sod off to sleep now, and read the letter tomorrow. Oh, and apologise to Max," he looked over to Max' bed, his gaze shifting from counselling to sympathetic. "He's pretty upset over what happened. Y'know - he hates talking about all that stuff."

Scorpius nodded. "I know. I'm sorry."

"Yeah, but it's not me you need to apologise to." Albus nodded and walked back to his bed, shuffling down in his blankets until the room fell utterly silent.

Once more drawing the curtains, Scorpius settled down in his bed. His bones seemed to ache with tiredness. And even though he knew Alfie and Albus and all of them were right, he couldn't utterly banish those haunting images from his mind.

—

"What's up with Max?"

Scorpius blinked himself awake from his endless gaze through Professor Binns and at the fascinatingly full stone behind him.

"'m sorry?"

"I said, what's up with Max?"

Scorpius frowned at Isabelle. "I have literally no idea what you're on about."

She rolled her eyes, fidgeting with her long, shiny black hair again and pushing it all over her right shoulder with an effortless flourish. "I mean, what's the deal with him and Mia Clarke."

"Oh." Scorpius has briefly worried that she'd picked up on his permenantly sullen face as of late, too. "Not really sure. They're going to the Ball together."

"They are!?"

Scorpius nodded, unaware this wasn't common knowledge. "Yeah. I thought everyone knew?"

"Huh. Not me." She pulled a face but said no more, tapping the edge of her quill against her finger rhythmically. "What's up with you, anyway?"

"Tired." Is all Scorpius managed to get out around a wide yawn.

"You too? Geez, must be something in the water. Even Rosie's off this week."

"She is?"

"Yeah. Did you piss her off or something?"

Scorpius frowned. 'More like the other way around', he thought irritatedly, but declined to comment. "It's nothing."

Isabella rolled her eyes. "Rosie doesn't go to the library a whole week for the first time ever, and it's 'not a big deal'. _Sure_."

"Can we talk about something else?" Scorpius sighed, nestling his head down on his sleeve as though it were a pillow. Surprisingly comfy.

"Yeah, let's talk about the fact that your hair gel doesn't come off on your robes every time you do that."

Scorpius grinned to himself. "It's magic."

"No, _really_?!"

"It's our secret! I'm not telling you how I do it." He muttered lazily, feeling that comfortable wave of warmth wash over his body as cozy tiredness crept into him. "Well, I'm not telling you how I do this until you tell me how you girls can go from curly hair one day to straight hair the next."

"Okay, so we might be deadlocked on this one." Isabelle chewed the inside of her cheek, examining the hair on Scorpius' hair closely. "Seriously, though. I'm always impressed by your hair game."

"My what?"

"Hair game. Oh," she sniggered to herself, "I forgot that you're, like, allergic to muggle. Your hair always looks nice."

Scorpius stopped listening before she finished. He mumbled out an uninvested 'thanks', but resumed his stare into the middle-distance.

"Seriously, what's the matter?!" She asked again, the frustration failing to hide a touching note of worry.

"Go ask Rose." He sighed. He didn't want to mention the one thing that was burning a hole in his mind: the letter. That stupid, annoying letter. That irritating, infernal letter he found himself reading not two hours later.

The parchment felt rough against his overly sensitive fingers. He unfolded it slowly, layer by layer in the half-light of the dim lanterns in the lower floor of the owlery. He could feel goosebumps even crawl up his shins.

It wasn't the same, heavy parchment he usually received courtesy of his father's office. It was thinner, but so much longer than he anticipated. The yellowish parchment covered all over by ink and scrawled letters. It was like a puzzle to unfold; and it looked like a whole life was written out on the pages in front of him.

He knew he had been right to run off to the Owlery.

/

 _Dear Scorpius,_

 _Happy Birthday. Today, you become a man in the eyes of the law and society. But to me, and to your mother, you will always be our boy._

 _When your mother was ill, she told me all the things she wanted me to tell you the day you turned seventeen. Firstly, that she hoped that I'd never have to do this - that she would still be here, to celebrate with us and probably bake something obnoxiously sweet. But as that has not come to pass, I'll tell you what she said secondly: that she loves you more than her heart can possibly contain, and she will do, always. She says that there is no one she could ever love more than you, and that she is proud of the boy you were, and I know she is proud of the wonderful man you have become. There is a letter waiting for you at home with her own words in it. And whilst I may have difficulty being so eloquent with my own emotions, please know that I feel the same. For all you have faced and overcome, it would be understandable if you were half the man you have become: but you have surpassed even my wildest imagination._

 _I wish I could say the rest of this letter were devoted to my ramblings on all the things you have done to make me proud, but alas it is not. I promised your mother one other thing relating to this day: that you know the truth of our family. I know you suffered for years with rumours that you so valiantly fought off, and no doubt you have come across accounts of my life from acquaintances. But I feel that you should know the truth from my own being - if not from my own lips - about what really happened. Your mother did not want to scare you and I did not want to taint your childhood, so we waited until now. Please, forgive us and allow us our indulgence. We only wanted to see you grow up untainted by my past._

 _What follows is the truth as I know it. It is uncomfortable reading, and I can only apologise._

 _The Malfoy Family is a Pure-Blood, supremacist family, and it's views have always been strong to that effect. Your grandfather and grandmother - my parents - were no different. My father, it is true, was a Death Eater since before I was born. My mother, too, had her sympathies but never officially joined. Together, they hosted the Dark Lord at our house, recruited fellow Death Eaters, I watched a teacher of mine be executed in one room and the massacre of seven goblins in another, and they even leant their own wands and money to his personal service. When I turned sixteen, I, too, joined their ranks. My father had lead the assault on the Ministry in 1995 and was summarily sent to Azkaban. In his place, I was made to take over. It was not a pleasant choice, but it was that or death. I could not leave my mother, and in the arrogance of my youth I believe that I would receive the prestige I always craved in the face of your friend Albus' father should I join the Death Eaters. This began two years of utter destruction._

 _It is true that under the Death Eaters, I orchestrated the death of Albus Dumbledore. Though I did not cast the killings curse - that was Severus Snape - I often feel that though I may as well have. It had been the task personally allotted to me by the Dark Lord, to accomplish within a year or face certain death. I do not attempt to absolve myself from what I did, but please know that I did it with no affection for the task._

 _I watched as the entire world went to wrack and ruin around me, and yet when Hogwarts fell, I ran off to be with the Death Eaters. I made the wrong decision there - the next in a series of bad decisions. It was that summer that I saw more deaths than I should ever like to know, and heard the planning of unspeakable acts. My role in events was over, now that my father had returned. But I did not interfere for the safety of others._

 _My aunt, Bellatrix Lestrange, was truely as terrible as the rumours say. She poured affection on me as a child - I did not realise the evil that lay inside until long after she died. Murder, torture and violence were her delights, and she made no secret of that. She gave special orders for the deliberate killing of Nymphadora Tonks - your second cousin, my cousin - and her husband during the Battle of Hogwarts. And yes, I know about Teddy Lupin. But your mother and I were afraid that you might learn all that I'm telling you from an unkind source, so we tried to control who you interacted with. I'm sorry for that. Perhaps it was the wrong decision._

 _It is to my shame that I didn't act much in the Battle of Hogwarts. But it is thanks to a few acts by my mother, myself, and the selfless testimonyiesof those I'd treated poorly that I am now a free man. It taught me that redemption is possible._

 _In school, I was vile from the first day. I was a spoiled, arrogant brat - I knew that, even then. That behaviour has always been embarrassing, but it grew such dark and deep roots that before I even realised, I was entrenched in evil. Once that happened, I had no choice but to stay. I bullied Professor Longbottom, harassed Hermione Granger and Ron Weasley, and constantly fought against Harry Potter. I can never express how happy I was to see that you never became like I was at school._

 _I would like to credit your mother as the catalyst for my deep reflection, but the truth is that the seeds were down long before I even met her. I knew that I needed to escape when I had just turned eighteen, but I had no chance. Your mother simply helped to pull me out of the deep depression the war had cast me into. And as always, the immense love she held for everyone she knew kept my buoyant when I thought I must sink. She was an incredible moment, and she will forever be the best woman I ever met._

 _I do not mean to depress you with this letter, Scorpius. And I am sorry to give you such miserable news on your birthday. But I promised your mother, and your mother was right: you need to know. Hogwarts fails all students in avoiding this history, and I do not want you to go into the world as an adult being so uninformed about something so important._

 _I want to end by again saying just how proud I am of you, and how grateful I am that you have become such a wonderful man. My heart feels fit to burst every time I remember that I have the pleasure to call you my son._

 _We can talk about all this more when you get home, or never again if you wish._

 _Happy Birthday, Scorpius._

 _With Love,_

 _Your father._

He folded the parchement back up, feeling the bumpy, rough texture with numb fingertips.

His father was no monster. His mother was innocent. And somehow, despite all the pain he knew had been caused to innumerable people, he felt somehow free. Free of the direct guilt. Liberated from culpability.

Yes, his father was a coward, and yes, he should've done more. He was a brat who did nothing when he could've done _something_. But not anymore. Scorpius was always keenly aware of the distance between he and his father; that he didn't know his father well. But now that he had the information to fill the gaps, he was certain that his father was a changed man. And in light of all that had happened, Scorpius wasn't sure that anyone could ask for anything more from him.

Alfie was right. He had to ignore the past, to push it aside. To forget the pain he felt every time he thought of it, and focus squarely on the future.

—

Scorpius was the first to arrive at breakfast the next morning. He had a class first thing, and Max, the only other person with an early class that day, wasn't there yet.

Scorpius swirled the milk in his bowl, only a few remaining soggy wheat Nifflers floating in their sea. Reading the letter had made him feel so much better. He was finally secure in reality and not wavering between the worst of the worst scenarios and the best. It was still uncomfortable to find out that you came from a family full of evil, but at least he was now secure in that for at least two generations, no one had wanted to be part of that - at least, not for very long. And now his father was working to make the world a better place. Scorpius considered seriously for the first time if he should go down that career path, too. And yet, there was an unconscious pull at the back of his mind telling him that he did not want that, not at all.

Life is hard.

"'Morning."

Scorpius looked up to see Max quickly grab two slices of toast before he even sat down, pulling the butter towards him quickly and never once looking Scorpius in the eye.

"Morning." Scorpius' freshly digested breakfast churned uncomfortably in his stomach. "Hey, Max. I'm Uh... sorry about the other day."

Max paused in his frantic toast buttering.

"I'm sorry about all those things I said about your parents."

Max let out a derisive laugh. "Which ones?"

"Both."

Max' jaw tensed, always a tell-tale sign he was swallowing a string of pure vitriol. "Fine. I don't need you to apologise for what you said about my birth mum and dad because they're both wastes of skin. But you need to apologise for the rest."

Scorpius nodded, eager to make up with his friend. "I'm sorry that I said your parents are Death Eater escapees and spineless Dark Arts fetishists, and it wasn't fair to say that they only took you in because they had to."

Max nodded pointedly. "That's right. They took me in because they're amazing people, and in no way affiliated with the Death Eaters. 'S not their fault my dad happens to be the brother of my birth father."

Scorpius nodded, ashamed. "I'm sorry. I don't even know why I said it. I was just... so angry."

"No, I get why you said it. You weren't angry, you were confused." Max shoved a piece of toast into his mouth unceremoniously. "I went through the same thing when my birth parents first turned up. I called my parents everything under the sun because I thought I was angry, but I was actually confused. You see, whilst Alfie may be overly emotional sometimes, his house motto does have a point. It's okay to be so mad because sure, Together, We Fall, but also, together, we rise." He wrinkled his nose, "gross. Alfie would've been overly proud of that."

Scorpius quirked a smile, but said nothing. He had nothing to add. Max has gone through the same, confusing process at twelve - Scorpius had only been going through it for a week.

"So now you've had your confused stage, if you ever say anything about my parents ever again, I will hex you in your mediocre face and absolutely mean it."

Scorpius twinged an uneasy smile. "Got it. Are we friends again?"

Max rolled his eyes. "Enough with the sentiment. We always were, I just wanted to turn your eyes into beetles for a few days."

Scorpius cringed at the pretty grim imagery as Max crammed the last piece of toast into his mouth, mumbled something about needing to his class, and scarpered off without waiting a second more.

Scorpius was left in his wake, confused, bamboozled, but mostly glad he'd finally apologised.

He stared out over the Great Hall. And there, staring unflinchingly back was Rose Weasley. The out of his stomach dived and then soared back up. Even when he'd been mean to her, shouted at her, terrified himself that she'd never come back to him, her beauty still had the ability to make him feel like this.

Life really is hard.

—

The lamps on this corridor glowed a dim amber, flickering mysterious in the dark evening air.

He'd been meaning to do this for ages, now. He'd wanted to send a letter to his dad and ask for his advice, but then everything else happened and now he wasn't sure how to write to his father again...

But no, this was it. He was sure of it. He'd even had a dream of it, and that meant that it was certainly a good choice, right? Divination had never been his strong suit. He would've asked Alfie, but he didn't want anyone to find out until it was a certainty. A terrifying, exhilarating certainty.

He raised a hand to the side, oaken door, and stopped breathing for just a second.

A pause. Then,

 _Knock._

 _Knock._

 _Knock._

"Yes? Who is it?" His voice was tired and muffled behind the door. The it opened, with the wide face of Professor Slughorn peering out from the side. "Oh, Scorpius my boy. Come in, come in."

Scorpius followed Slughorn into the office, and as the door clicked shut behind him, the knot in his stomach pulled taught. This was it. No turning back now.

"Professor, I'd like to accept the offer of apprentice to Geoffry Plantastrode."

* * *

 _Scorpius has a job! But, will he make up with Rose soon? Can he even get over the anger he has for her in time for the ball? Let me know what you think!_

 _Also, fun fact time: Pandora's Box was actually more like a vase in the ancient Greek. And no one has ever figured out why only hope was left in it, but I've always thought that it was symbolic for the ability mankind has to do good things, even amongst the bad. Hope was the one thing Pandora managed to save - even though she'd unleashed all those other things. That being said, I'm very much an optimist, so this could just be me! Wow, I'm such a Classics nerd._

 _Tangent over. Anyway, please review if you've got time and follow for more. Thanks!_


	17. Life is (maybe) Hard

**_Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter_**

 _Thank you **catwomannnn1** and **Guest** for your reviews! Honestly, Uni is insane recently, so I really can't say just how much I love it when I see that someone's liked the chapter enough to leave a review!_

 _I'd just like to apologise for being late with this chapter! I promise it won't happen again :'(_

 _Enjoy!_

* * *

 _Chapter 17: Life is (maybe) Hard_

Life isn't actually that hard.

Well, that's what Scorpius was feeling at least for the past few days. Nothing makes the spirit buoyant like maybe having a job, and a job you actually like, and no homework, and finally being seventeen!

Ask him again at the end of next week, however, and he might not feel quite the same. Teenage emotions had a tendency to change like that. Why? Scorpius would never know. Joshua insisted with many rolled eyes that it was something to do with science. But Scorpius swore that science was based on the doctrine of rationality - and teenage life was absolutely not rational.

Case in point: Rose Granger-Weasley.

Oh Merlin, she was walking towards him. Scorpius' heart leapt into his throat. She wasn't stopping. His heart beat faster. This might actually be the end of him.

"Scorpius, can I have a word?" She bit her lip, adding a quieter "please?" As an extra afterthought. He'd never seen her look this nervous - not except those first few exams in their first year. She'd almost chewed a hole through her lip out of sheer panic - and then, of course, scored 110%.

Scorpius nodded, gave a wave goodbye to Albus, and lead Rose through the dark tunnels of the dungeons into one of the weird little foyers that only Slytherins seemed to know about.

"Where are we?"

"In the dungeons. It was probably something pretty nefarious once."

Even though as he looked at her, and his heart beat like a hyperactive mermaid's tail, he couldn't quite bring himself to slough off the frosty tone he took. He couldn't forget how she treated his entire family history like it was nothing at all. Because it was something. It was something to him. No; it was everything. And he'd never go back into his family home in the same way again. Rose was part of the reason why.

She took his silence exactly as implied, and simply took a few steps over to one of the ancient-looking crates, perching on it.

"Well."

He looked up at her, leaning against the cool stone wall as he did.

She coughed awkwardly before carrying on. "I'm sorry. I'm sorry, is all I wanted to say."

And he'd never heard her sound so awkward before, either. Today, she appeared before him as the Rose Granger-Weasley Albus had described from his childhood. Before he even got a chance to think of a response, she stuffed the silence full of explanations.

"I didn't think about what reading all those things might do to you, and I didn't want to see you hurt or upset. I didn't mean to say anything about your mum because I know now that she didn't do anything. And I think I was wrong about your dad too, but - but I didn't mean to hurt you so much in the process! I just couldn't bear to see you so ignorant and I guess that's really my own fault and my own problem, but I couldn't stand by when I saw that there was something so glaringly obvious that you didn't know!"

She stopped in a panting daze.

"For someone who is so desperate to not be like her mother, you sure do sound like her sometimes."

Rose looked at him questioningly. "You really do pick out the strangest things, Scorpius."

He couldn't resist the slight pull at the edges of his lips. But it was quashed not a second later. "Wait a minute. You - You said that you know _now_ / that my mother was good."

"Oh, Uh, Yes. I suppose I did." She wouldn't meet his gaze.

"Rose, come on." He resisted grinding his teeth. That was a habbit he hadn't picked up in years.

This was not the reality he imagined when thinking about what life could be if Rose Granger-Weasley would talk to him: sitting in the bowels of the dungeon, discussing the finer points of semantics.

Life _is_ hard.

"Well, after I left you I did some stuff and saw some people, and then the next morning I went to the library. I wanted to know more, since I decided that I couldn't trust all that the newspapers alone nor my family alone told me. So I contacted Teddy's gran, and a few others along the way to find out a bit more..."

Sheepishly, she trailed off, and produced several letters from the inner pocket of her robes.

One was one old looking, slightly yellowed parchment set with deep plum ink. Another was on a crisp white parchment with almost-black crimson ink, and the third was a familiar, heavy envelope.

He narrowed his eyes at the sight before him. Was she serious?

"I know. I'm sorry. I just— I just had to know! And now I do know, and I know that your mother was a wonderful woman, and that perhaps I was wrong, too."

"You owelled my father?"

She silently nodded.

"And he replied?"

She nodded with marginally more enthusiasm.

He paused, and the silence stretched between them. "Maybe next time, be okay with not knowing immediately."

She bit her lips and her eyebrows drew into a tight frown. She nodded, wordlessly and slipped the letters back into the pocket of her robes. "I know. I'm terrible."

He cocked a sly smile for the first time in a while. "Not terrible. Incouragable? Endless thirst for knowledge? More curious than a Niffler?"

"They're all the same way of saying one thing."

"No they're not - they're _nicer_ /."

She smiled, too, and fiddled with her hair again, bringing it all over her left shoulder in a fiery cascade.

"Can you forgive me?"

Scorpius deliberated aloud. "I'll think about it," his opportunistic mind yelled at him, "if you help me with Transfiguration."

She nodded before it looked like she'd even registered what had just happened.

"Okay."

—

Scorpius didn't often lie to his friends. In fact, if he had to give you a list of times he'd lied to them about something remotely substantial, he could probably give you just three examples. That one time when he lied to Albus about exactly how much he'd told Alfie about his incident with the Unicorn dung, then the time when he lied to Joshua that Max wasn't getting off with Sylvia Alliyev in the top floor of the West Tower, and the time he lied to Max on Alfie's behalf about Alfie absolutely having slept with Sabrina.

So when he lied to his friends and left them before the common room fire in the evening, Scorpius's stomach fizzled uncomfortably. It fizzled all the way to the Owlery where, upon seeing Rose sitting there in a jumper that slid slightly off her shoulder, it plummeted to the ground.

"Oh, hi Scorpius." She tucked a luck of hair over her ear.

"Oh- Uh yeah."

And there was his stomach again, rising up through his throat at a disastrously rapid pace.

"Are you just going to stand there?"

"N-no." He exhaled a deep breath. "No. Sorry."

She frowned at him curiously. "Alright. Come over here, let's begin."

And so the pair of them spent the next hour or so going over and over transfiguration spells until finally, thankfully, Scorpius could correctly turn a candle into a mouse and back again.

"You know, it would be almost funny if it weren't so depressing." Scorpius rapped his wand on the little purple, waxy mouse scurrying around the top of the cardboard box between them.

Rose gave a little smile. "Yeah. I know. They really do teach us all the weird spells in Transfiguration. Not like Potions, for example, where we learn about actually useful potions to make."

"Oh yes, I can always find a use for my Veritaserum," Scorpius said with a dry smile.

They had recently begun preparation for their first Potions test of the year - to make a batch of Veritaserum. How Slughorn proposed to test it, Scorpius had no idea, but it took three weeks to mature and that was the exact length of their Christmas holidays so he supposed that it was a perfect fit. The only downside was that it took four weeks to mature - and that meant four weeks of tending to the potion at odd hours.

"Well, I suppose it can be helpful sometimes."

"How nefarious, Granger-Weasley." He smirked over the box at her, and was glad to see his work rewarded with a slight blush.

"Whatever."

"Did you want to practice potions in here?"

She considered it for a moment, before giving a consenting nod.

"But what should we make?"

"Well," Scorpius tapped the scurrying mouse and watched it solidify back into a satisfactory candle, "the next two tests are on Polyjuice potion and the new Amortentia method. We could do either one of them - although Polyjuice potion might be a bit more difficult."

"Oh?"

"Yeah, the ingredients are harder to get. And it's not exactly like we can just _steal_ * from Slughorn."

She gave him a confused look. "Why not?"

"Because that'd be _stealing_ *."

"But stealing for good."

"Nope. Pretty sure he wouldn't take kindly to it. And he's done a lot for me, too."

She rolled her eyes and muttered ' _Slytherin_ '.

He refrained from pointing out that she sounded like a dumb Gryffindor. No one needed that argument right now.

"Anyway, do you want to practice Amortentia or something else?"

She chewed on her bottom lip. "It's not like full-blown Amortentia in the state we'd be making it to, is it?"

"No, it's much weaker."

She hummed. "Okay then. Let's make that one."

"You sure?"

She nodded. "Positive. And then I can kick your arse on the next Potions exam with the knowledge you inadvertently imparted on me."

"I could say the same about you for the next Transfiguration test, too!"

—

Days went by and, as Scorpius came up with more and more ludicrous ways to excuse himself in the evening and Rose turned up either way too late or way too early, he found himself looking forward to it more and more. Because in Rose, he found a different kind of friend. She wasn't like Albus or Max or Alfie or Joshua, she was just... different. She could say one word and he would understand the whole sentence; do one half of an action and he would do the pair. It was, quite frankly, weird. He didn't want to sound soppy, but it wasn't like anything he'd ever experienced before. And, he wasn't entirely sure it was romantic.

The thought scared him a little bit. Rose was treating him just like she treated all her other friends. He was terrified that he was going to end up just like any other boy she was 'mates' with. He didn't want to be a mate. He didn't even like that word.

He watched her over the steam of the Amortentia one night.

The potion inside the pot was brewing midnight purple at this stage - staying dark before increments of pearl were added and then the additions from Plantastrode to thin the potion to a higher degree of liquidity.

"Hey, Rose?"

"Yeah?"

"Am I your friend?"

She looked up from the potion suddenly.

"What?"

"Are we friends?"

He didn't even know what was coming over him to ask this so out of the blue, so insistently.

"Yeah. Even my cousins all accept you."

He couldn't help but be touched. "And that's it?"

She broke off eye contact. "I couldn't possibly know what you're talking about."

And so the thought hung with him.

—

Breakfast the next morning had Scorpius with a funny kind of hangover. Except, obviously, it wasn't a hangover. He hadn't even been drinking.

"Letter for you, Scorpius."

Alfie dangled a letter encased in heavy white parchment in front of his face.

He grabbed it out of the air with a nod of thanks to Alfie, his mouth full of cereal.

"Does your dad hand-make these enveloped or what?"

Scorpius nodded. "Yeah, I think he does y'know."

It was a strange conclusion he'd come to in his fourth year. He'd been to his dad's office when he was young; he remembered there being oddly pristine, thick parchment on his desk. He'd never seen any parchment like it - mundane a thing to notice as it was.

He slit open the top with his wand and pulled the letter out. It was only short, and written in more harried handwriting than usual.

 _Scorpius,_

 _I'm afraid I must be brief, but I wanted to tell you the good news, anyway._

 _My bill has been successful! The Minister has deemed it acceptable to put before the Wizengamott, and this may be done just after Christmas._

 _Soon, we may finally see the fruition of what we've been waiting for! The burial of the past, once and for all, with the Astoria Law._

 _Love,_

 _Your father._

"What is it?" Joshua noticed his vacant grin with a keen eye. It was rare he even noticed them at all these days, What with being so smitten with Amelie.

"My father's bill is going before the Wizengamott soon. It's the one he's been working on for years."

"Which one's that again?"

"The Astoria Law." A row of blank faces met him. "The one with the mandatory Muggle Studies."

"Oh, right, yeah. I remember that." Max swirled the pumpkin juice around in his goblet. "I'm not a fan of Muggle Studies, but I get it."

"I think it's great, Scorpius. Pass on your congratulations to your father for me."

Scorpius' smile faltered for a moment. Perhaps it wasn't Muggle Studies they needed - perhaps they needed to learn about the war.

He pushed the thought aside. There was no use thinking about all that, not now. Not when so much good was happening if he only pushed the past aside.

"Sure." Scorpius folded up the letter and tucked it neatly into an inner pocket of his robes.

Just then, they heard a loud voice echoing from the entrance hall. "Fine! I didn't like you that much anyway!"

And lo and behold, Poppy Creevey came stomping into the Great Hall, utterly unashamed at her outburst almost silencing the hall, and promptly sat down amidst her friends at the Slytherin table, where she burst into tears.

"Well. That'll be James." Albus rolled his eyes.

"Took him bloody ages to break up with her," Max said, darting his eyes down the table to her.

"Oh calm down, you can't go out with this crying girl, too."

Max rolled his eyes at Joshua and said through gritted teeth, "wasn't planning it."

"At least he finally did it," Alfie said with a small sigh.

"Yeah. I feel bad for her though." Scorpius couldn't help but watch as a series of friends gathered around her, and tissues flying here and there.

"I'll go and have a word later," Alfie commented.

"You really do know everyone, don't you?"

"Well, looks like as one potter loses a girlfriend, another potter gains one."

Scorpius regretted it almost immediately. His stomach clutched tightly.

"What?" Lydia's friend, Evie Lee looked over.

"What?" Scorpius replied just as quickly, pretending as though really, Evie has heard it all in her mind.

Evie went back to patting Poppy's back. Albus, however, had his death glare remained quite firmly on Scorpius for quite some time to come.

"Albus, please stop giving me the hump. I said I'm sorry already - and she probably doesn't even know!"

"Know what?" Rose asked, her voice floating before her to announce her presence.

"Oh-Uh.. nothing. Nothing." He spluttered, and he could almost feel Albus' fiery eyes rolling a perfect circle behind his back.

"Tell me later." She declared, before wandering off to stand in support with her friends.

Albus raised his eyebrows in a way that could only beckon an exchange of information.

Scorpius huffed. "You forgive me, I'll tell you what that was about."

"Fine. You are forgiven."

"I can almost feel the warmth."

The got up and left for their next class - Alchemy. "Rose and I have been meeting up in the evenings to practice together."

"That's the worst euphemism I think I've ever heard."

"No! Well, that's kind of the problem..."

"Oh?"

"I think I might be _just_ her friend."

"Yeah, no."

"Oh, c'mon!"

"I'm not telling. That's not how it's supposed to go." Albus said sniffily.

"Are you still angry with me?"

"Nah."

Scorpius wasn't convinced, but let it go as they traipsed further into the dungeons, side by side.

Absoltely shattered, the five boys trudged back to the common room that evening after a nice roast dinner.

"Have you got a plan, Albus?"

"I was planning on just asking the question..." he divulged, suddenly shrinking back with the realisation that there might actually be planning involved in asking someone out.

"Oh, Albus! You've always got to have a plan with these things!" Joshua gave him a slap on the back before stepping ahead to claim his place lounging across the longest of their usual sofas.

"How come you two don't?"

"Sure we do," Max said, kicking Joshua's legs away so he could sit down. "We just have one plan that we reuse. Not like we use it often, though."

"Do tell."

"So, first thing's first you make sure you've got to at least first base with them."

Alfie gave a badly concealed sigh of derision.

"Then," Joshua took over as Max gave Alfie a pointed stare, "you take them either somewhere meaningful to the two of you, or just to the Yesult Tower. Well, as long as no one else is occupying it."

"And that it isn't bloody freezing. That usually happens in December though - you should be fine for now."

Joshua nodded in agreement. "True. Anyway, after that, you say something meaningful and voila, you've just asked them to be your girlfriend."

"Oh. Okay. That's not too bad."

"Yeah, how's your 'meaningful speech' coming along?"

"Fine, actually."

Scorpius had no doubts. Albus was actually good at being meaningful when he really meant it - if a little rough around the edges sometimes.

"I have full faith in you, Albus."

Albus smiled warmly at Alfie.

"Yeah, I do as well." Albus eyes Max suspiciously. "Seriously. You obviously like Lydia a lot."

"And you have done for years."

Scorpius nodded along wordlessly. Albus already knew he had Scorpius' full backing and faith all the way - he didn't need to reiterate it now.

"And, I'm pretty sure she really likes you." Joshua declared. They looked at him suspiciously. "Amelie maybe let it slip... one time..."

"And _you didn't tell me_?!"

"I was busy with..."

"Amelie?" Alfie supplied, helpfully,

"Chill out, Al, it's not like it makes a difference!"

"Only to my entire nervous system!"

"It's fine, Al. We all know that she likes you as much as you like her, we just didn't want to ruin it for you."

"Touché."

"What?" Scorpius frowned at the now smirking Albus. A smirking Potter was never a good sign. "Anyway, I've got to head over to the—"

"—library." He and Albus chorused together.

"Actually Scorpius, I might go with you." Joshua declared.

"Oh, uh, yeah. Right."

Albus was now badly concealing snorts of laughter.

"What?"

"No. Nothing." Albus could barely get the words out.

"He's.." Scorpius couldn't resist the smile that came to his lips. "Fine, I'm not really going to the library."

Max gave a loud gasp. "I knew you were the Hogsmeade dealer!"

"What? No." Sheepishly, he peered at the plush rug on the deep, dark floorboards beneath them. "I didn't want to say anything because I didn't want to make a big deal, but, Rose and I have been practising spells together in the evenings."

"Oh, Merlin. We have to teach this boy the proper vernacular." Max ran his fingertips down the bridge of his nose.

"No. _Seriously_. We are practising spells together."

Max and Joshua looked at each other in despair. Even Alfie winced a bit.

"I can't tell which is more tragic."

Scorpius rolled his eyes. "Whatever. Either way, I'm off. I'll be back later."

"Alright. Stay safe - don't let your spells go off too early!"

—-

When he reached the Owlery, Rose wasn't there yet. And so he was left to wonder the tall, circular room alone. It reminded him of the Yesult Tower - but enlarged, taller, and with much more dust. And this room had probably seen far fewer tears, swearing, and laughter throughout the years - not to mention much less clandestine behaviour.

He ambled over to the cauldron full of Amortentia, bubbling away on the top of a wooden crate they'd rolled a length of this weird muggle stuff Rose declared was called 'linoleum' across. It'd been sitting rolled up behind a few of the other crates - Scorpius reckoned it was probably a leftover from Dumbledore's mad days at the castle.

He lifted off the lid. It smelt a lot more powerful today. As though it were mid-June, and the plump red roses, grown obese on water and nutrisious soil, were growing inside the very cauldron itself. And there was the grass, the green, green grass the grew alongside the dangerous, beautiful flowers. And for some reason, as though he were walking down a sunny, Parisian street, he could smell fresh loaves of bread.

Catching himself falling towards the deep purple liquid, he clamped the lid back on. No good ever came of drinking under-brewed Amortentia, that much he knew. If you were lucky, it might cause short-lived delusions, but at its worst, it could do some serious, lasting damage. Love was a powerful emotion, and playing with it was even more dangerous.

The door opened behind him.

It was Rose, notebook in one hand, wand in the other.

"Sorry - Quidditch. I barely had time to shower," he pointed to her hair, still wet from the water and all tied up in a cascade of ruby red curls behind her head, "were you looking at the potion?"

He found himself unable to speak, and so settled for a simple nod instead.

"Okay." She cast a suspicious look his way, but came to stand next to the crate with him nonetheless. Pulling the lid off, she unleashed the powerful fragrance again, and Scorpius stepped back from the potion before it got him a second time. He watched as her face grew into a look of surprise, then filled to vacancy, and then she started to be pulled as though by some invisible ropes towards the cauldron.

"Let's not do that." He quickly intervened, taking the lid from her hands and slipping it between her face and the cauldron rim.

"Why?" She asked, breathlessly, "it smelt so nice. Like, like shoe polish and..."

"Yeah, I'm sure. But bad things have happened to people who do what you were about to, so maybe don't, okay?"

He walked her away from the potion-topped crate and sat her down on one of the two chairs they'd recovered from the jumble of items with the help of Alys.

"Why don't we talk about something totally un-romantic instead. Get your mind off—" he paused with an ungainly expression and pressed out the word, "whoever."

"Oh."

"My father."

Character returned to Rose's eyes. "Oh." She wrinkled her nose. "Yeah, that'll do it."

"Great!" Scorpius was glad - people had said some crazy shit about his dad to him over the years. "That letter he sent you - what was in it."

"Oh. Yes, well it's been a while. Let me think."

"It's been four days."

"Four days? Gosh, sixth year really does trail by."

He could tell she was stalling, but he let it slide.

She pulled out a white slip of parchment from her robes, reluctantly. "Here." She showed him the few neat rows of writing, crammed together on the little slip of paper. His father never wrote a letter like that to him - it was always elegantly organised and immaculately spaced. "It wasn't much, really. I just thought that I needed to contact him after all..." she paused, desperately searching for the right word, " _that_."

Scorpius remained silent. He was fine with Rose, but this was still a bit of a tender spot for him.

"He just told me in brief about where to find the correct records about his imprisonment and his family's crimes."

Scorpius frowned. They were his family, too, not just his father's.

"He mostly talked about your mother, though. The majority of it was praising her, actually."

"That's because she was amazing,"

Rose looked at him, and said nothing. Scorpius knew exactly why. What could you say? How did you address the dead whom you've never met? And how do you properly qualify how amazing such a woman like that was?

"I'm grateful to your father, anyway."

Scorpius nodded, and looked away. He just knew that lingering on this topic of conversation was a terrible idea. There was so much past, it was so fraught with emotion, it was bound to tear them apart again soon.

Besides, it was painful, and that nightmare had been haunting Scorpius more viciously than usual.

—

Scorpius and Albus lined up next to each other again for apparition lessons. Alfie was with them, this time. And although late, Joshua also decided to grace the four with his presence.

"Amelie says we should spend time apart sometimes."

So lessons began, with Mildred Spans giving them reedy instructions from the front of the hall. But it's not like it was instruction they needed, now. It was just practice, practice, practice. Although, when she brought up the possibility of splinching, that was slightly terrifying.

"What if you left your dick behind?" Max whispered concernedly, And was roundly left with a series of strained winces.

Scorpius knuckled back down into practising. He knew that he could do this - of course he could. Well, in _theory_ that was. Doing it in practice was proving remarkably difficult. Besides, he thought, as he heard a sharp pop next to him and a woozy Albus reappeared, if Albus could do it, so could he.

He closed his eyes, focusing only on the hoop before him. He cleared his mind of anything but that hoop. Then, he knuckled down, got into position, and span.

 _Pop_!

He opened his eyes in alarm. Joshua was on his arse, in Scorpius's hoop. Clearly, he'd overshot and gone two hoops forwards, not just one.

"Oh my god." He drawled, letting the Muggle-speak he so rarely used come free. "Oh my god. I feel terrible."

Max gave him a hand up and Scorpius watched it all, confused. Joshua was basically a muggle born - how could he do this, and Scorpius couldn't?!

"Alright there?"

Joshua nodded delicately. "Feels like my intestines are looped round my lungs.

"I have no idea what that means, but it sounds gross."

"They should really teach you all basic skills here." Joshua sighed, and Scorpius turned back around.

He spent the rest of the hour trying, and trying, and trying. Alfie managed to make it into the back of his hoop, and Max, irritatingly, popped perfectly into the middle of his. But Scorpius was just standing and twirling there, not even able to move an inch.

He saw the clock at the front of the hall. Just five minutes of class left. He was so frustrated with himself - he could do everything - why couldn't he do this!?

Trying again just for the sake of trying, he got into position and span

 _Pop_!

He felt like he was being crammed into a Quidditch broom case, and he couldn't breathe. His eyes burned and his stomach growled and then, finally—

Fresh air.

Taking a heaving breath, he leant over on his knees and took a look around.

He'd done it! He was in the other hoop!

Albus and Alfie made cheering noises, and Scorpius looked down at the ground.

"Well done Scorpius and all, but—"

Scorpius looked up to see Joshua pointing at the air. There, floating nonchalantly, was a tiny little fingernail. From his left little finger, to be precise.

"Oh fuck," Scorpius swore under his breath, and went to retrieve it.

Max called over Madame Spans, and she was greeted with the sight of Scorpius trying to fix his fingernail back on.

"Off to the Hospital Wing - Madam Clair will know what to do with you."

Grinning sheepishly, Scorpius walked off out of the hall, fingernail cradled in his hand. Oh, Merlin, that felt weird.

He pushed open the doors to the Great Hall, and the midday winter sunshine bathed his face.

Yeah, so maybe life isn't really that hard, after all.

* * *

 _So this one time, my friend dropped a shot-put (it's a really heavy ball people throw in the UK for sport... I don't know why...) on his finger, and it cut the edge of his finger off and the nail never grew back on that part. Honestly, it looks slightly strange and it's was also pretty gross at the time. Blood - everywhere. Ewww_

 _Please review if you've got time, and follow for more! Thank you!_


	18. Green As Grass

**_Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter_**

 _Thank you to **AMBERJANUS** , **Son of Whitebeard** (I'm glad that things are finally looking up, too!), and **Guest** for your reviews! Especially AMBERJANUS and Son of Whitebeard: you guys have been with me from the beginning, so I'm super glad you're still reading along with me! It's been a hell of a week, so now more than ever I really, really appreciate your kind words. Thank you ever so much!_

 _Soooo this week has been... a trip. I was ill, then iller, then rode in an ambulance for the first time ever, but then apparently I'm a-okay so we're all good! Still, it was weird as hell. But ambulances are cool inside, so there's that! As always, shout out to the NHS: you guys are the best!_

 _So, we hit a couple milestones this week that I just wanted to talk about: firstly, we passed over 80 reviews! You guys are amazing! Obviously, I'm going to have a huge honours list of everyone who reviewed in the last chapter but for now just... wow! I'm amazed and incredibly touched by all the lovely comments. Thank you, everyone, from the bottom of my heart. And on a similar note, we're now less than ten chapters away from the end... crazy, right? According to my calculations (which are terrible, so take this with a whole scoop of salt), I'm going to be publishing the last chapter on Christmas Day. Yeah, I know! So I guess, give us a follow and I'll have your Chrimbo-Day entertainment sorted._

 _Anyway, enough rambling from me. Enjoy!_

* * *

 _Chapter 18: Green As Grass_

 _Tap tap tap_

Silence

 _Tap tap tap_

Silence

 _Tap tap tap_

"Oh for the love of Arthur!" Albus groaned, throwing a balled up bit of parchment at Scorpius, who fumbled his hands in the air and caught it between his elbows.

"What?"

"You are tapping and it is driving me insane!" Albus said through gritted teeth.

"Oh. My bad." Scorpius offered, putting his pencil behind his ear instead.

Albus was curled up on the floor, a pile of books behind him and a taller one in front of him. Although you could never say that Albus didn't like his studies, he _loathed_ all the reading that came with it. And so sometimes, he had to read fifteen books all at once. Just like now.

"I hate life." Scorpius heard him mumble in a grouchy, low whisper.

Max gave a muffled snort and tried to cover it up by shuffling further along the sofa.

"Hey, what's this?" He pointed at a doodle on the bottom of a bit of parchment Scorpius was holding.

It was a dragon, breathing blue flames that wove in and out of shocked looking witches on pyres. They had been learning about some witch burnings up near Manchester, which made it a little bit less morbid.

"Oh, that? Yeah, Isabelle drew it the other day."

"Oh." Max watched the dragon for a few seconds more. "She's good. Isabelle, right?"

"Yeah. The one with the slight American accent."

"Huh." He turned back to his book with not so much as a word more. Scorpius shrugged it off and went back to reading through his assignment instructions again. Professor Binns did know how to give by far the most boring essay questions in all of life and death. Then again, being 'alive' for that long would suck all remote bits of joy out of you.

An essay on the perception of gnomes in Victorian England, the role of ghouls in the 1572 Witching Hour Attack, or to what extent the sightings of Magical Creatures aided ancient Gaulic warfare was all he had to choose from. Slim pickings. Deciding that since gnomes were at least known to say hilariously rude things, that one would be the most fun, Scorpius sat back and relaxed for all of three minutes. He'd earned it, after all.

"What's the time again?"

"Forgot your watch?"

"Probably."

It was unusual that Joshua didn't immediately lunge towards Scorpius' wrist to feel for a watch there. It was a sign of how stressful the year had become that Scorpius wasn't wearing his watch today.

"It's just gone 11."

Scorpius hummed. One hour until lunch. Probably four hours until Al moved next. "Alright, I'm going to the library."

"Euphemism?"

"No," Scorpius rolled his eyes, "and that was going to the Owlery, anyway."

"Whatever."

Alfie thankfully interrupted before Max could say something very stupid. "How is it going?"

Scorpius shrugged. He couldn't say if he tried. In the week that they'd been regularly meeting up, not much had changed. Not much, except that he was pretty certain that he now knew why the Amortentia smelt the way it did to him. And he was desperate to know what it smelt like to her.

"Fine."

"How descriptive." Joshua snorted. "It's a good job that you're the one who never gets any action."

"Wha— Hey! What do you mean 'the _one_ '!?"

"To be fair, Josh, he's one of two. Alfie's either going out with no one or one half of an old married couple."

Alfie, sitting in an apparent daze in front of his book, did not answer.

"... or he's having an intense internal crisis." Joshua offered.

"Last time he looked like this was just before he broke up with Sabrina."

Scorpius watched him silently. Something was definitely wrong. Usually, you could never stop Alfie from reading if you placed anything remotely resembling a book in front of his eyes. And right now, he was definitely not reading.

"Weird. Anyway, I'm off to the library. Let me know when you're going for lunch." Scorpius waved behind him and headed briefly up the stairs to collect his bag, before wandering down the empty hallways to the library.

For some reason, the library was always nice and toasty. No matter how cold the castle corridors got in the dead of winter, you could always nip into the library to thaw yourself out.

Evidently, everyone was still in their common rooms, warming themselves by the fires. The library was calm and quiet, a fire crackling peacefully away in the large fireplace opposite Madam Pince's desk. She really was terrifying - and at lest four-hundred years old He walked down the tranquil rows of desks, almost all abandoned, until he decided almost at random on a quiet one, happily in the history section.

He put his bag down and stepped over to the rows of books - surely there would be _something_ there on Gnomes. Rows upon rows, stacks upon stacks of books lined the wearied, knotted wooden shelves and yet there was nothing, nothing at all, about gnomes. Letting out a strangled sound of irritation, Scorpius wandered down the shelves until, slouching past the Herbology section with his hands deep in his pockets, he saw a gilded, gaudy book catch his eye. ' _Gnomes of Yonder Year_ '.

Well, if that wouldn't do then nothing would.

* * *

"Hey, Scorpius. That book looks _horrible_."

Scorpius didn't even have to look up to know who it was. "Hi, Lily."

When he looked up, she was already flouncing away somewhere else, leaving just him, Lily's bag, Hugo, and Fred.

"Oh, hi."

Neither said a word but waved to him and took their seats.

"Really, though. That book's ugly as _fuck_."

"Lily - What did your mum say about swearing?"

Lily watched Hugo imperiously. "She said she'd wash my mouth out with soap like she did James. Not like she can hear me, though. Not _here_." She huffed sniffly, fists clenched on her hips and looking down her nose. Scorpius has heard tell that their mother was no woman to be messed with - and he could see why if she were anything like this.

"She's also no fool. She could have a charm on you." Hugo pointed out, voice calm and sage.

Lily faltered. "Yeah uh, well... Whatever. Dad'll sort it out." She declared and tucked herself into a chair.

Both Hugo and Fred agreed with a simple look between them, and pulled books out of their bags.

"What're you reading?" Fred asked him. Caught off guard, Scorpius spluttered unattractively, before slamming the heavy tome shut and trapping his hand in the middle.

"Ow— Um, it's a book about gnomes."

"Fascinating." Lily declared dryly.

"It could be."

"I've got to side with Lily on this one, Hugo," Scorpius admitted apologetically. "It's really, really boring."

"That's a shame. There's clearly so much missed potential in that field."

Scorpius started dumbfounded for a moment. He sounded _exactly_ like Rose.

"Yeah, he sounds just like his mum sometimes," Fred gave a grin, an expression that sat much better on his face than the usually absent look, "it's really weird."

"It's not." Hugo insisted, shyly.

"It's okay, I'm sure your girlfriend likes it."

"You have a girlfriend?" Scorpius asked, eyebrow raised and smile full of mirth. Rose had mentioned how cripplingly shy Hugo could be, but not this. He wondered, as Hugo's blush rose, if she even knew about it yet.

"Go on, Hugo." Fred elbowed, his smile widening. Scorpius got the impression that such a mischievous grin was only reserved for occasions such as this.

"I'm going out with Holly Roberts." He said, head sliding into his hands so that all Scorpius could see were his ears, burning red beneath his auburn hair.

Lily put a hand over her mouth to restrain her guffaws. "You know, Holly and Isla has a whole fight over who got to ask him first, and then Holly went off script and just plain asked him out. It was _hilarious_." She cackled, and Hugo sank further into his hands.

"Sounds like you're pretty popular there, Hugo."

"Please don't." He pleaded in a muffled, desperate voice.

"'Course he's popular. He's that one kid you'd never expect to be popular so secretly all the hot girls are after him."

"Well, not _all_ the 'hot girls', Fred. There's-"

"-Shut up." Hugo groaned, head still resting in his hands, and his ears almost steaming red.

"Anyway, at least that all of us sorted for the Ball now." Fred sighed, cracking open his book and settling into his chair.

Scorpius' interest was aroused. "Oh yeah, who're you two going with, then?"

"James White."

"Ruby Taylor."

"Huh." Neither of the names registered with him. Scorpius suddenly felt very old. And every single.

"What about you, Scorpius? I bet you've been asked loads now you're all popular."

"Whoa there, Lily. 'Popular's an overstatement. And actually, I've only been asked properly once."

"Seriously?"

Scorpius scratched his chin. "At least, one time that I'm aware of."

The three cousins looked between each other, and silently some understanding passed between them. Scorpius, not for the first time, felt like an intruder.

Hugo coughed, breaking the silence. "Anyway."

"Right, Yes. Study time, kids."

"'Kids'?"

"Yeah, you're like what - 14? That makes you a _kid_ , you child."

Lily rolled her eyes. "I'm not a kid just because you're ancient."

* * *

Lunch that day was a delicious affair of beef stew; soul food that never failed to warm you right to the bones on a cold winter's day. Scorpius had to give it to the muggles - they did come up with a nice, non-magical recipe with that one.

"'m gunna to do it."

"And again, with proper diction?" Joshua asked, putting on his Thamesy-est, strongest, London accent.

"I'm going to do it tonight." Albus repeated, sounding less like he'd just spewed up word vomit this time.

"Yeah, I'm going to have to ask for clarification on the 'it'." Max asked, Joshua nodding along.

"I'm going to, y'know—"

"No,"

"— _ask her out. Tonight_." He hissed, looking around anxiously.

"She's on the other side of the hall, it's okay." Alfie supplied helpfully, and Albus' shoulders receded all the way down from his ears.

"Have you got it all planned out?"

Albus nodded. "Speech in mind, location chosen."

"Where? Just out of — curiosity?"

"I'm not telling you, Joshua." Albus deadpanned. "You're not spying on me."

"Damn it."

"And it was so much fun watching Scorpius, too!" Max sighed.

"You really are a weird one." Scorpius declared, pausing from his food to give Max a slow, disapproving shake of his head.

Max, as always, didn't care. He gave a handsome smile, and went back to badgering Albus.

"Have you asked her yet?"

"What? No! I'm doing that tonight, have you been listening at all Joshua?"

"Well yeah of course I've been listening. I meant have you asked her out for _tonight_ yet, genius."

"Oh. No. I was going to do that after lunch."

"Good idea." Alfie nodded sagely, "she's midway through lunch right now, by the looks of it."

"How would you know? I've never even see you ask someone out, like ever."

Alfie just shrugged and went back to eating.

"Yeah— come to think of it, when did you ask Sabrina out? And then you asked her to the Ball too, didn't you? You're depriving us of some very valuable information there!"

Alfie frowned. "Uh, okay then." Even Scorpius was paying attention, distracted from his really good food. They all looked up to Alfie with rapt attention; as though he were the rhapsode and they the young children. "I asked her out first in fourth year. Um, spring term. I think it was after Care of Magical Creatures, out near the edge of the Forbidden Forest. I just... asked her."

"What?"

"I just asked her, 'Will you be my girlfriend?' And she said okay."

"That's..."

"That's so easy." Albus sighed, longingly. "What've you got me doing all this for, then, if that works so easily?"

"Because it's never failed us!" Max and Joshua declared in almost perfect unison.

"Alfie's just a different league of person, isn't he?"

"Thanks... I think."

"Take it." Max waved a hand at him lazily. "Anyway, point is that it's good to put in a little effort right now. No use starting a relationship with very little effort put in, because that's not going to last long, is it?"

"Uh... Alfie and Sabrina went out for like a year."

"Again, they don't count."

"Max is right, you may as well begin with a bang."

"Literally, if you can help it."

Scorpius groaned at Max' utterly unfunny joke.

"I think that's a step too far for him right now — aw look! You've made him blush!" Joshua jeered as indeed, a blush spread across Albus' cheeks.

"Ugh, Whatever! I'm going to do it tonight!" Albus declared ferociously with a slam of his fist, as a little first year squeaked in a panic a few places down from them.

"She looks like she's leaving, Al. Might want to go over now." Alfie nodded over, and Albus whipped his head around at a speed that surely can't have been good for his health.

"Oh, bugger."

"Didn't you just say you had this?" Joshua asked.

"You can do it, Al. She won't say no to meeting up now, at least!" Scorpius grinned at his friend with a double thumbs up. Albus nodded back with a grateful smile and tried to keep his speed-walk as subtle as possible. It did not work.

Max massaged his forehead and Alfie looked away as though he'd seen something rude.

Joshua groaned. "Why do adults always say these are the best days of their lives? That's horrific."

"I know. I know." Scorpius grimaced, watching Albus start to furiously blush as he finally got to Lydia.

"You think he's actually getting out proper words there?"

"Maybe. Hopefully." Scorpius hoped to Dumbledore that it would go okay. Lydia would be an idiot to turn him down, anyway.

* * *

"Careful!"

"Sorry." Rose drawled, with a brief roll of her eyes.

"I just mean, you don't want it to go wrong, do you?"

Rose gave an ever a slight smile. "I suppose not."

She stirred in the peppermint oil, face illuminated magenta in the dim light of the Owlery. "It seems to be going well, doesn't it?"

Scorpius peered over the rim. It had begun taking on the pearlescent sheen in the past few days, and the colour had now turned magenta. It was thinner, more translucent than usual Amortentia, but it was getting there. And, of course, it was doing that characteristic Amortentia smell. To him, fresh grass and roses and fresh bread. To her, shoe polish and Dumbledore knows what else.

"Yeah, looks it. After this, it's two weeks of maturation and then we'll know if it's good or not."

"You speak like you have practice." She smirked.

"Oh, you know me. All my girlfriends have been entrapped that way."

"All?"

"Yeah. All _zero_." Scorpius rolled his eyes with a snort.

She frowned. "You've never had a girlfriend?"

"Yeah..."

"Huh. I Just figured y'know. Like Mia, or... Clara? Emily? Wendy...?"

"Are you just naming all the Slytherin 6th years you know?"

Rose giggled. "Little bit." Her she gave a dumbfounded smile, "but seriously, though? You never went out with Mia Clarke?"

"Mia Clarke? No. No! No way. She's kinda... no." Now was not the time to go into that whole story.

"Oh." She blinked rapidly in the awkward, hanging silence. He knew that she'd caught onto there being something far more there, but she let it drop. She hung over the cauldron, peering down into pretty liquid as she stirred. "It smells like... caramel...?" She mumbled, her voice dripping with confusion.

"Caramel? You smell shoe polish and caramel?"

"Yeah. Just like back in first year..." she said, more to herself than to him. She seemed to be a thousand miles away, lost in a memory.

A memory Scorpius shared. At least, a bit. He had baked caramel shortbread with his mother that morning, before their very first expedition on the Hogwarts express. He'd been so nervous he almost let the caramel burn in the pan but, as always, his mother had stepped in just in time.

"Rose?" He didn't know what was coming over him. It was like he was in a haze, or had just woken from a deep, cozy sleep where he'd had a wonderful dream. "Hey, Rose?" She tore her eyes languidly away from staring at nowhere in particular, "Do you want to go to the Ball with me?"

The words were out his mouth as though another person were saying it, just like last time. But he didn't feel so out of control and horrified this time.

She smiled, a smile as sweet as the May honey, but shook her head. "No. Not yet. But I'll go to Hogsmeade with you?" Her voice was soft and tender, and the smile stayed on her face even as she spoke.

His heart slowed, but it did not sink. Somehow, he'd been expecting this. He'd been expecting her to say no, but not that she'd go to Hogsmeade. "Okay." He was still disappointed, of course, but not devastated this time.

With a mischievous smile, she gazed at him over the cauldron, "It's a date, then."

* * *

When Scorpius opened the door to his dorm that night, he was greeted by a blasting wall of sound.

There was Albus, jumping on his bed. Max and Joshua were entertaining themselves with Merlin knows what in the centre of the circular room and Alfie was pouring over his radio, adjusting the volume.

"Woah!" Scorpius yelled, clamping his hands over his ears as Alfie accidentally blasted it way up.

"Oh, Scorpius!" Alfie greeted with a wave as he finally got the volume to a more manageable level.

"I did it! I did it! She said yes!" Albus beamed, finally stopping jumping and giving the poor bed springs a break.

"Finally. Bed springs should only receive that kind of pounding when—"

"Alright!" Alfie called over the rest of Max' sentence.

Albus leapt over to Scorpius, who was just shutting there door, and barrelled into him with a big hug. "I still can't believe it. She's amazing, and she actually agreed to go out with me!"

Scorpius forced himself to smile. And once he did, he found it was easy enough to maintain. "Good. It's been four years in the making."

"She's so nice. And so pretty. And so clever, and..."

And so Albus went on, for hours.

* * *

 _The sound of crackling filled his ears. He opened his eyes, wearily knowing already what he was going to see._

 _Slowly, he opened them. But it wasn't what he was expecting. He was face-to-face with a picture of someone he didn't know over the mantlepiece. He looked down, and saw the fire crackling far below him. His hands, held out in front of his face, were thin, with long, boney fingers like his adult self._

 _This had never happened before. Not once in three years._

 _He looked back up again, at the pictures above the mantlepiece. All static, like the pictures muggles had, some hand-painted on waxy old oils and some grainy photographs. But even if he could see their bodies, he couldn't see their faces. None of their faces. Except…_

 _There. To the far left. He, his mother, and another figure he couldn't see. He could feel the muscles in his face stretch into a smile; it was an alien sensation to him now._

 _A sense of dread rose like bile in his stomach. He knew what was next, what always came next. Glossing his eyes over the portraits full of people who's faces he just could not see, he turned, slowly, to the door. It had never looked so small to him before. He dwarfed it, now, and reached the black-lacquer door in just a few steps._

 _That metallic taste was back on his tongue; coating his throat and weighing down his tongue._

 _He rested a hand on the door-handle, which was eerily cold. It burned deep into his hand, chilling it right to the bone. It didn't take much to push it down._

 _The door breezed open._

 _But he didn't leave his body. His feet stayed firmly on the ground, tall as he was. He felt the weight of his body acutely._

 _Taking a step over the threshold, he was met with silence. The room was dingy, almost entirely coloured by greyscale. There was a man standing over her right side, weeping in silence. No matter how hard he looked, he couldn't see his face. Frustration welled up inside him, as the only heat in this god-forsaken room, and he gnashed his teeth in agony at trying to remember who this was. He suddenly broke out into uncomfortable sweats, which intensified as he looked down into the only lick of colour in the room._

 _His mother's eyes._

 _Green, like the first blades of grass after a harsh winter. Green, like the stone that shone proudly in the hairpin she passed down to him, that he knew Rose Granger-Weasley would wear one day. Green, like the rash of jealousy he felt every time Albus or Alfie or Max mentioned their mums._

 _She was pleading with him, begging form, reaching out a hand that never came near. And he felt himself rising, up and up and the heat enveloping his body like he was falling straight into the pits of hell._

 _"Mum!_

 _Mum!"_

"Mum!"

* * *

 _Yaaaay they're going on a date! How cute. I can't wait to write it! What do you think they'll get up to on their date? And what do you think that nightmare's all about? Let me know what you think!_

 _Thanks for reading. Please review if you've got time (oh boy do I need reviews this week!), and follow for more. Thanks!_


	19. Intoxicatingly Close

**_Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter_**

 _Thank you to **Guest** (I like your ideas about the dreams - intriguing!), **chapou69** , **MLMarint** (don't apologise- enjoy your summer, you've earned it! And wow, thank you so much for the high praise, I'm really touched by it!), **AMBERJANUS** (thank you for your well wishes! I'm all better now, luckily), **Guest** (thank you, and I'm glad you're enjoying it, I'm happy to have you!) and **wealseyqueen96** (welcome! I'm really glad you're enjoying the story! I know so many OCs is a hard sell for most, but I'm very glad to have you! Also, I should be writing my dissertation right now so I related pretty hard) for your reviews! It's so good too see all you old and new faces, and I just get so much joy out of your reviews my poor lil heart can't take it! Thank you, sincerely._

 _Enjoy!_

* * *

 _Chapter 19: Intoxicatingly Close_

The path down to Hogsmeade with slippery with two-day-old snow. It crunched sickeningly underfoot, and every step made you slip ever so slightly closer to your doom.

"Are you okay?"

"Yep."

Rose raised an eyebrow at him. "Are you sure?"

Scorpius nodded tersely. Not because he was angry with her, but because he thought he might fall on his face if he stopped concentrating on putting one foot before the other.

Rose put her arm around his, thing his shoddy balance to her much superior balance.

He must've had a look of utter bewilderment on his face because she only gave him a look of barely restrained laughter and said no more.

When they made it to Madam Puddifoot's the late-morning sun was shining over Hogsmeade, making the snow shine blindingly bright.

"Shall we?" Rose asked, peering in the windows of the obnoxiously pink café.

"After you," Scorpius held the door open for her, and was relieved when, as he stepped inside, the warm air hit him like a dense wall. "Oh, finally."

"I know. It's too cold outside." Rose sighed.

They looked around the café for a vacant table. Frankly, it was sickening. There was James and... Millie Longbottom? That was a surprise. And he was saying something so sappy to her that she blushed the colour of beetroot. In the corner, Leo Black was sucking the face off a girl Scorpius didn't know, and Patrick from the other Slytherin boy's dorm was watching with outright disgust, across the table from Sophia Davis, who gave Scorpius a smile they caught each other's eyes. And then Scorpius recognised one of the Patil sisters, sitting across from the back of a particular shade of sandy hair that could only be from the Finnegan brother.

"Let's sit over there." Rose nodded to a table in almost the farthest corner away. James turned at the sound of her voice, and opened his mouth to say something, but thought better of it and closed his mouth when Rose gave him a glare.

A treakly pot of shared tea later, Scorpius and Rose were both looking around the outrageously pink tea-shop in vague disgust. The sickeningly sweet harp music descended from above, and little Cornish pixies dressed in Cupid's togas flitted around the ceiling.

"This is..."

"... really something."

"It's not always this sickly, is it?"

"Oh yes, it's always been this hard to deal with." Rose sighed, looking careworn.

Scorpius gave her a look, which she matched immediately.

He'd had enough of his place, and he knew she had too.

"Shall we—?"

"Let's."

And without another word passing between them, they left the monument to all that is awkward about dating, stepping back out into the bitingly fresh later-November air.

"That was..."

"I know." Rose sniggered.

"Where do you want to go?" He asked, awkwardly, not quite able to look her in the eyes. Sure, she'd said that 'it was a date', but he didn't know if it was _that_ kind of date. He wasn't about to go guessing this way or that, not now. He'd leave it up to her to say.

"Let's go on a walk."

* * *

"You know, my uncle ran this business in his own for a while." Rose said almost vacantly, looking up at the garishly bright Weasley's Wizard Wheezes as they passed.

"Which one?"

"Oh, yeah." She laughed, "George."

"But I thought your dad ran it?"

"No. He was only sixteen when it was established, and then didn't help out until he was in his mid-twenties."

"So your Uncle ran it all by himself for years?"

Rose shook her head. "He had a twin, once."

"Seriously?"

"Really. No one knows much about him, though. No one ever talks about him. Well - George does when he's drunk at Christmas."

"Oh?"

Rose gave that same smile that looked like she was just about to laugh. It made her eyes crinkled at the edges in that infectiously cute way. "He's very sweet, really, but he also clearly misses his twin. He..." the smile died, quickly. "He's... different, according to dad."

He could see how sad it made her to think about this. He'd never realised just how much Rose cared about her family; not when compared with all her other cousins. To hear Albus tell it - at least until a few years ago - she couldn't care less about any of them except the 'cool' cousins. Yet here she was, babbling on about her Uncles.

"And so Percy helped out running the business for a few years, with Charlie, too."

"Isn't your Uncle Percy really..."

They met eyes, and neither had to say aloud what they all knew he was going to say anyway: Boring.

"Well, yeah. He is a bit. He's actually quite nice, really, if you just engage him in a topic you care about. Of course, Albus never learner that - but I suppose he gets that from _both_ his parents." She said, firmly, with a roll of her eyes. Scorpius said nothing, but tucked away the information for later use.

"And frankly, Uncle Charlie is quite reckless. But of course, he's one of Albus' favourites."

"He's reckless?" Scorpius prompted. He would've listened to her talk all day. He noticed that she had a very slight West Country twang in her accent over certain words. It just so...

He couldn't think of the word. The only suitable way to describe it was 'Rose'.

"He's a dragon keeper! Not exactly role-model of the year, is he? And especially when he used to bring us little baby dragons to play with at Christmas..."

She gave a huff, folding her arms.

"You used to play with dragons over Christmas?"

"Well," She unfurled her arms and gave a little smile, "they were pretty cute."

They came to a halt before 'Pet Emporium', and the cage of pink fluffy Pygmy Puffs.

"Aren't they so cute?" Scorpius cooed over the dozens of bright little puffs of fur, all squeaking around their enclosure.

"Oh! You like Pygmy Puffs, too?"

"Of course. I have a heart, don't I?"

Rose laughed. "Sure. My dad thinks they're kind of pointless - although I'm pretty sure he only says that to wind up my aunt." Scorpius gave her an inquisitive look. "She used to have one when she was younger."

"Seriously? She's so lucky." Scorpius sighed, enviously.

"And you know what she called it?"

"No?"

"Arnold."

"Wha- really?"

"Hey, I don't know if you've noticed Albus' name, but between them, Uncle Harry and Ginny aren't so great at naming things..." Rose said with a mischievous smirk.

Scorpius wasn't quick to argue with her.

"I've always wanted one of these."

"Why don't you get one, then?"

Scorpius gave an exaggerated sigh. "Theia would eat them."

"Oh. Right." Rose said, confusion and mild alarm evident on her face. She played with the end of her long plait. "Shall we...?" She walked on, leaving Scorpius to contemplate how stupid he sounded in her wake.

* * *

The woods at the edge of Hogsmeade town were constantly in one of two states: full of horny teenagers finding somewhere to get off, or utterly abandoned.

"Looks like it's totally abandoned today, huh?" Rose commented to no one in particular.

"Looks like it, Scorpius said, hurrying to catch up with her. She, for some unknown reason, had the grace of a swan on the icy paths. He, however, had all the grace of a pigeon.

"The Shrieking Shack looks kind of pretty in this light, don't you think?"

The golden midday light flooded through the trees and onto the dilapidated house, making it glow with an aura-like sheen.

"Yeah, it does." Scorpius panted, finally catching up with her to lean on the old fence.

She gave him that smile, eyeing him up and down, before she turned her attention back to the house.

Scorpius could feel it coming. He could feel the pressure building up in the silence. For some reason, every instinct was telling him to do the one thing that he knew he should not at all do. He turned to look at her, red hair escaping under a knitted hat, nose red from the cold and her breath coming out in clouds before her mouth.

 _History lesson time!_

"You know, this house has been there since the fifteen hundreds, but the haunting rumours only began during the last century."

Rose turned to look at him again, that smile never fading from her lips, but her eyebrows raising ever so slightly.

It's not like neither of them expected this to happen.

"There were first reports during the 80s that there was howling coming from the house intermittently. But no ghosts have ever been sighted, so it's left the historical community in quite a conundrum."

"Hm. Has it, now?"

She had that look on her face that meant she knew the answer. Of course he knew that look; he'd watched her in class for six years now.

"What do you know?"

"Well," she looked back over to the house, "my parents have been in there, before."

Scorpius frowned. "Like— _in_ , in?"

"Yep. My dad broke his leg in there once, apparently."

"What? How?"

Rose tilted her head. "I actually don't know. Mum just mentioned it once, and never told me about it again. Hugo might know, though."

Scorpius paused. He couldn't help himself from his next question. "But... the ghosts?"

"Oh, yeah. No ghosts. Well, says mum."

"And your dad?"

Rose shrugged. "The chances of him being right and mum being wrong are slim to none."

Scorpius laughed. It was widely known that _no one_ crossed Minister Granger-Weasley, not when it came to matters of intelligence.

Silence floated over them like the first snowflakes of winter. It wasn't unpleasant. He quite liked it, actually. She was always so nice to be around... He'd thought, when he was younger, that if only she'd just talk to him, like him, go out with him, then they'd get on like a house on fire and they'd never stop talking. That there would be some magical moment that caused them to fall in deep, unceasing, unrelenting love for the rest of their lives. That once they were together, they'd never break apart. Perhaps reality was just so different or perhaps it was a sign of his ageing hat he didn't mind that they fell into silence quite often.

His eyes were draw back to the Shrieking Shack, that lonely house atop a plinth, the only thing in the crater of a valley that stretched down before them. It looked golden in the light, almost as though it had been abandoned fairly recently. Not for the first time, he wondered just who had lived there, once. Had they been happy? Why had they abandoned it? He'd always thought it was attacked by some big, huge, unspeakable monster when he was younger, but now he wasn't so sure. Now, he wished that it was some happy family who lived there, and stuck together when they moved out.

But, he realised with a grim sinking of his stomach, the window frames hanging off and the hastily nailed up wooden planks over the doors suggested otherwise.

"How's the Quidditch practice going?"

"Hm." Rose twisted her hands together in a nervous knot. "It's going fine, I guess. Can we talk about something else?"

"Sure. Ugh..." Scorpius fishes around for something, anything, to say. "Oh! Isabelle."

Rose looked at him suspiciously. "Yes?"

"Max was saying her drawings are really good the other day."

"Oh, yeah," Rose let out a deep breath, and let her hands fall relaxed over the barrier again, "yeah, she's always been amazing at drawing. Ever since we met."

"What was that, six years ago?"

She nodded her head. "We're dorm mates."

Scorpius didn't feel like saying that he knew that. It sounded awfully stalkerish as he thought in his head that actually, he knew who all her dorm mates were without her ever saying. And there being 11 Gryffindor girls in her year.

"Well, Max thinks she's really good at drawing."

"Is he into art or something?"

Scorpius shrugged. "No one really knows. Then again, no one knows much about Max."

"Apart from the list of girls he's shagged."

Scorpius chuckled, "yeah, apart from that."

"You know, I can never tell with him - is he from Yorkshire or does he just speak weirdly?"

Scorpius didn't think it was the exact right moment to tell the pit to stop calling the kettle black, so avoided saying anything. "Yeah, he says he's from just outside Mansfield, but he's actually from Skegby."

Rose crinckled her nose. "Oh. Well, I've never heard of Mansfield, but it doesn't sound much nicer than Skegby."

"I know." Scorpius shuddered. "Anyway, they're both up near Yorkshire."

Rose hummed, chewing on her bottom lip as she often did when in thought. "Where are you from, again? I'm not sure I've ever asked."

"Wiltshire. Somewhere out in the countryside."

"Try me," She said, with that enchanting, competitive smile that made her eyes narrow and the chocolate-brown irises shimmery a little more darkly.

"Rushall." He replied, unable to rid his face of a wide smile.

"Oh. Okay, fine."

He couldn't help himself but laugh, and thankfully, she joined in.

"What about you, then? Somewhere in Devon? Somerset?"

"North Devon. Libbaton. How did you guess, though?"

"Oh, just um," he thought very careful about how to phrase his next few words, "there's a little hint of an accent on a few words."

"Yep, one of my best friends when I was little was a girl from a few villages over. I picked it up then, I suppose."

He sighed, half with laughter and half out of relief.

"I don't know how those Muggle kids do it. The ones who live out on farms and stuff."

"I know," Scorpius sympathised, "it's bad enough with flop powder at the ready - never mind if you had to _drive_ around places!"

"Can't they only drive when they're eighteen, too?"

"Something like that." Scorpius nodded. "Must be absolute torture."

Rose laughed. "You know, we thought Roxanne might be a squib when she was younger. George and Angelica got all worried about what life be like for her if she couldn't do magic. It would have been the _worst_."

Scorpius chuckled. "I suppose so."

"Oh— not that her being a squib would've been bad, just that they live out on the edge of Cornwall. As in, on the rocks on the edge of a cliff - several hours drive from the nearest town, apparently. She wouldn't have ever seen a human being until she was eighteen!"

Scorpius laughed with her. "That is... a weird choice of house."

"That's Uncle George."

* * *

The Three Broomsticks was quiet by the time they made it inside.

"It's nice and warm in here, isn't it?" Rose sighed, taking off her woolly hat and gloves. Scorpius nodded, unwinding his scarf from around his neck and taking off his mittens. He barely had time to look back up before Rose pulled him out of the path of a furious looking Mia Clarke.

"What?" Scorpius muttered.

Rose looked after her with a significant look, but said nothing.

Scorpius searches the pub for the others. And there he found them, a large group of them all, sitting in a booth some under a saggy looking beam.

Of course, Max was rolling his eyes, also walking over to join the main group of their friends, hands shoved deeply into his trouser pockets.

"Trouble in paradise?" Scorpius asked, knowing what the answer was likely to be, anyway.

"No chance. She's bloody mental." Max scoffed. "Hi, Rose." He gave a thoroughly uninterested wave to her, before plonking down heavily and moodily in a chair next to Lola. Lola, usually unperturbed by most things in life, looked thoroughly disconcerted at this. But nonetheless, she did valiantly try to strike up an extended conversation with him.

Scorpius and Rose took the last two vacant chairs, sitting across the rectangular table from Alfie, who was accompanied by Isabelle, Sabrina, and Jasmine.

"Joshua off with Amelie?" Scorpius asked, as Rose and Jasmine seemed to be having a silent, unfathomable conversation over the table.

Alfie nodded behind him, where Scorpius turned, and saw Joshua almost lying over the table in a desperate bid to be closer to Amelie.

"I know. They've been at it all afternoon. Well, he has at least." Isabelle said with a meaningfully raised eyebrow.

Scorpius turned back around, and cast his eyes around the table. Paige was missing, of course, as well as Albus and Lydia. And Alfie and Sabrina weren't cosied up together like all other dates... but by 3:40 on a freezing cold Hogsmeade afternoon, everyone seemed to be wearing better than usual. The second Hogsmeade visit was said to be the one with the most breakups, after all.

"So, where's Paige?" Scorpius asked, desperate to get some kind of conversation going that wasn't completely silent.

"Oh, I think she said she was going to Honeydukes then Marple's with Poppy and Grace." Lola answered

"Like Grace Hill?"

"Yeah, I think so."

Rose narrowed her eyes. "But... what about...?"

So much was left intentionally silent Scorpius wondered if he'd ever be able to have a conversation that fluent in 'girl-language' or whatever the hell it was.

"Yeah. He's busy. Off with Leo Black and people."

"Oh, is there trouble with him?" Alfie asked, apparently already clued in to this entire situation. Scorpius felt himself rolling his eyes at how well Alfie just seemed to _understand_ social situations.

"Well," Isabelle said, suddenly becoming alert and leaning conspiratorially over the table, "he's a seventh year, after all. And we all know how much trouble seventh years are."

"Guilty." Jasmine raised a hand. "Go on, you too, Rose. You were so innocent with Jake Andrews."

Scorpius watched, half in horror, half in despair, as a blush spread across her face.

"Let's not. Please?"

Scorpius frowned. Jake. Jake Andrews? _Jake Andrews_!? She'd had a thing with quidditch-acing, too-scoring, lady-killing Jake Andrews!?

A part of his died inside. All of his hope of having a chance, gone. Of course he was being stupid. Of corse, she'd want to go for the handsome, ballsy, charismatic, dick-head Jake Andrews, and not someone so awkward as Scorpius. He watched them all carry on talking, but didn't hear a word they said. It was like he was underwater, drowning in his own despair. He hated it. He thought he'd been so close and... she never usually blushed like that. She never even seemed to care if he was looking at her, watching her, or ignoring her existence. He could never make her blush, only make her smile. His stomach flipped uncomfortably. But he knew better than to make a scene right here. Even if his blood pressure was probably shooting through the roof, he knew better than to wind Rose up in public. So he waited. And he let it marinade. And he let the disappointment grow, let a silent theif in the night, until it was dark outside and the wave of evening drinkers began pouring into the pub.

Rose hung back to walk up the path with him.

"Want to borrow my arm?" She joked, her face still rosy from the pub.

"Sure." He said, and they began the long hike back up to the castle in chilly silence.

"Scorpius," She finally sighed when they were half way up to the castle, "what is it? What's wrong?"

"Jake Andrews." He blurted out without even thinking about what a terrible idea that was for a moment.

"Jake Andrews?" She repeated, voice fully of confusion, "what's wrong with him?"

"I just... didn't know about all..."

Rose picked up on the meaning of his silences. She gave a disgusted sound of repulsion. "You mean _Jake Andrews_ is your problem?" Her voice dropped with sardonic disdain. "Seriously? What is this, the 18th century? Do I need to be in 'mint condition' for you to even consider me that way?" She declared, her words tumbling out faster than she seemed to realise.

"What? No, no I just meant— I didn't know. I didn't know about any of that. That's all."

Rose sighed heavily through her nose. Clearly, it wasn't over yet.

"And what about Mia Clarke then? What about her?"

"Mia Clarke? I've been over this with you already! Nothing!"

"Oh really?" She huffed, "Well for nothing, you seem to be awfully cagey about it!"

Scorpius was taken back, mouth hanging open aghast. He paused as they finally made it to the bottom of the steps up to the bridge before the Castle. "I meant it."

"Really." Her voice was dripping with sarcasm.

"Fine! Fine, I'll show you then!" Scorpius declared, pulling her over to one of the lamps beneath the arched gate, stripping off his coat in the freezing December air.

"What? No! I don't want to—"

"Here!" Scorpius pointed to the patch of rough, pink skin on his back. "That's what Mia Clarke did to me. And that is why nothing has ever, or will ever happen."

Rose was silent in the still, cold air. But he heard her take two, slow, small steps towards him. And then he felt it. Her cold, thin fingertips running over the burnt skin.

"What... how did this happen?"

"A searing potion was 'accidentally' thrown at me. Mia was the only one to actually witness it, but she ran away instead of giving me the antidote."

"And she just... she just left you there?" Rose asked, her voice a weak whisper in the cold night air.

Scorpius nodded, turning back around and putting his coat back on. "She just left you, without even helping."

"Yeah. So that is the story with Mia Clarke."

Rose nodded, eye shimmering in the lamp light as she fought hard to look anywhere but him. "I'm so sorry."

Scorpius just gave a wave in the silence and, Merlin knows what compelled him, lifted her face up by the chin. Her eyes, they were so full of swirling, tempestuous emotions. Like a vat of the finest made living death, they'd suck you in in an instant, and hurt you all the worse for it.

"Jake Andrews and I kissed, just one time, at the end of last year. That's all." She said, her voice even and clean but oh so quiet.

Scorpius nodded, and with a smile, said "I like this way of solving arguments much better."

He was relieved to see Rose smile, too, and properly - her eyes crinkled at the edges. If they didn't, she didn't mean her happiness. "I can think of a better way, you know."

He'd never been so intoxicatingly close to her before, and it was almost suffocating him. Every breath he took seemed to last an eternity, every inch he leaned closer to her a mile long. He could almost see every freckle on her face, he was so close. Close to her beautiful eyes and cute nose and her wonderful lips...

"But I think we should save that for later." She whispered, and reached up an ungloved hand to cover his mouth.

He was stunned, taken aback by the sudden, darker look in her eyes and the suddenly extremely sexy smile she wore.

"Goodnight."

And she turned and left, walking a solitary path down the snowy bridge to Hogwarts before he could even move.

Without a doubt, she was the most enticing, enchanting, entrapping person he knew he would ever meet. There was never going to be another woman on earth like Rose Granger-Weasley.

And oh Merlin did he need an ice cold shower.

* * *

 _Mwhahahahahahaha. Yes, Yes I am awful. You're all welcome!_

 _Also: shout out to my fellow countryside kids! Let's pour one out for all the cool parties we missed because we couldn't drive there and there was no bus. /3_

 _Please review if you've got time (I suuuuper appreciate it) and follow for more. Thanks!_


	20. Euphoria

**_Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter._**

 _Thank you to **catwomannnnn1** (wow, I'm glad you liked last chapter so much!), **Guest** , **JSLaw** (thank you so much! I'm glad you noticed that I've really been working on my technique!), **laura** , and **reppad** **98** (first off: welcome! Secondly: I'm so, so happy that you're enjoying reading this story, and I really like your ideas there - so interesting! I hope you stick around for the end ^_^). Honestly, this week has been a loooooong one for me (both job-application and academic deadlines collided; I cried inside all week), so it just makes me so happy to read all your reviews. I guess I can't say it enough times, but thank you!_

 _Apologies for being a bit late today. What can I say? I'm a 20-year-old and it's a Friday night. Alcohol indeed ensued. Forgive me!_

 _Enjoy!_

* * *

 _Chapter 20: Euphoria_

There was nothing that could puff up the ego of a teenage boy quite like going on a date with a girl that was widely considered 'hot'. Especially when the girl in question was probably his favourite person ever. Sorry, Albus.

And if his fame after the last Quidditch match had been quite something compared with the abyss of hatred he'd received before, that was _nothing_ compared with now. He was the guy who went on a date with Rose Granger-Weasley; the only guy who'd ever successfully got her to commit to a date, it transpired. Even random students in the corridors asked him if it was really true.

"You went on a date with Rose Weasley, right?"

"Uh— Granger-Weasley, but yeah. Sure."

And so the giggling Hufflepuff third years scurried away. It had been confusing and quite disarming the first time it had happened. Was he missing something? He even wondered if it was a joke - if this whole thing had been a joke. Now that was a depressing thought.

But Rose smiled at him every time they saw each other, and she was definitely nice when they met in the Owlery. Nicer than nice, even.

"I don't like this, Scorpius." Max sighed. "People are asking me about your dating life more than mine."

Scorpius put a sarcastically comforting hand on his shoulder. "Oh. I am _so_ sorry for that. I'm sure Mia's just as upset about that as you."

Max frowned, pulling a plate of sausages towards himself over the breakfast table. "She's... Whatever."

All present shared suspicious looks, and all knew that it was best not to provoke him over this.

But there was just... something not quite right. A little thing that bothered him every now and then. It didn't feel quite right. This whole, sort-of-dating Rose Granger-Weasley business. She was nice to him, of course, and his heart beat a million times faster every time he saw her, and his head was in the clouds when he got to sit next to her in class. But it wasn't like he'd always imagined it, he supposed. There were no long walks around the lake, no fawning words from him to her or her to him. Nothing like how he'd always imagined dating life to work. It's almost like they just carried on their normal lives, only pausing to acknowledge that yes, their hearts did weird things when in close proximity.

He couldn't have told you why, but it bothered him, just a little bit.

And so naturally, he came to Alfie.

"'It's not like you imagined'?" He asked, bemused. "Well, of course it isn't."

"Whadd'ya mean?" He asked, as they de-seeded venomous poppy heads together.

"You're thinking about the kind of romance that an eleven-year-old imagines. It's not like that at all in real life. Think about your parents - any married adults you know of."

"Uh, bad examples only over here."

Alfie smiled apologetically. "Fine. What about Lydia and Albus," he gestured over to the pair with a nod, "do they look any different than they did two weeks ago to you?"

And of course, Alfie was right. Lydia was just a little more animated, and Albus smiled a little wider. Perhaps they were standing half a pace or so closer together, too. You wouldn't have been able to tell that he was madly, head-over-heels for her if you didn't know them.

"And do they spend a lot of time on dates together?"

"No, 'suppose not."

"Then, you just have your expectations all wrong. You're looking for the very peak of a relationship to be maintained as a consistent high. That's just not how it goes."

Scorpius looked back down at the fiercely gurning poppy in his hand. "Yeah. I guess so. I guess I was just looking for the wrong thing."

"I don't think you are. You just need to ask yourself: do you want to spend time with her?"

"Of course."

"Over any other woman?"

"Absolutely."

Alfie gave a slightly strained smile. "Then there you go. Just carry on as normal, and act in ways that feel natural. Don't force it. You can't."

Scorpius nodded, listening to Alfie's advice which was, as always, extremely sage.

"Thanks, Alfie. You're always the best at this."

He snorted, and with a smile as strong as a collapsing, 13th-century building, he said, "I'm really not."

"Hey— I know that we don't usually pry," Scorpius fidgeted wildly. Alfie was intensely private, they all knew that, and he hated it when people interfered with his business, "but what's wrong? Do you want to talk about it?"

Alfie shook his head, and in that moment, seemed to recollect himself. "No. No, I can't talk about it yet." With a genuine smile, he turned to Scorpius. "Thanks, though. I'll tell you when the time's right."

* * *

It was December 5th, so naturally, that meant the Christmas decorations were going up. Naturally, it followed that students gathered in and around the Great Hall at about 4 pm to watch Hagrid to wrestle with seven obnoxiously large Christmas trees.

"D'you ever think we should help him?" Albus asked, and his eyes widened into that same look his elven-year-old-self wore very often.

"Maybe. But I also don't want to be crushed by a Christmas Tree." Joshua declared, an arm draped around Amelie's shoulders as they peered down through the bannisters of one side of the winding staircase.

Amelie made a pouting sound, "aw, but I want to see you show off your muscles!"

Scorpius and Albus locked eyes and simultaneously tried to avoid vomiting in a painful silence.

Max had no such restraint. Of course he didn't, it was Max for Merlin's sake. "Alright Amelie, that's enough."

She huffed, and gave him a deathly glare. It was no secret that Max had come to like Amelie less and less as time passed, and that was only worsened as his mood grew fouler by the day.

Sure, Amelie was pretty. She had uniquely coloured eyes that looked somewhere between teal and turquoise depending on how widely she smiled, and she had that famously glossy Veela hair and perfectly symmetrical face. But there was something Scorpius just couldn't place about her; something off. Like she thought that she was just so much better than them all for no real reason. Or, she secretly did know all the solutions to the world's problems but she just wouldn't tell you. Either way, he, and Albus too, didn't particularly like her. Not that Joshua would ever be able to see that.

"Oh, I think I'm going to ask if he needs help," Albus said, wincing as they watched Hagrid drop a tree down his arm again.

"Lydia's not here, you don't need to impress her." Max drawled as Albus hurried down the stairs, thankfully out of earshot.

"Have you ever thought that life doesn't revolve around impressing girls, Max? And that girls aren't even the centre of the universe?" Alfie snapped, and for the first time in a very long time, Scorpius saw real anger in his eyes. It was almost unnatural, seeing the anger swirl there with hundreds of other torrid emotions.

But Max didn't pick up on that. He didn't even look at Alfie. "Yeah, yeah, keep telling yourself that." He said with a dismissive wave.

Scorpius watched Alfie's face fall. He'd never seen his friend so outwardly emotional; it wasn't right. Sure, all of them got emotional all the time. Whoever said that teenage girls were the emotional ones had clearly never hung out with a teenage boy. And sure, they all got upset, or angry — but not Alfie. Never like this. To Scorpius, Alfie was that one friend who, whenever something upset him, it was like the entire universe had conspired to wrong him, and nothing could be quite right until he was happy again. Like some deep disturbance that niggled at Scorpius' very soul.

"Hey, Alfie." He rested a comforting hand on Alfie's back, "I get you."

Alfie smiled, and the eddying whirlpool in his eyes ceased. "Thanks. I just wish that some _others_ would."

He looked meaningfully over to Max, and to Joshua and Amelie standing in front of them. In the cramped little landing space, it was only good that everyone else was noisily chatting so that neither of them heard him. But Scorpius didn't have to voice his agreement; it went without saying in their friendship group that Max and Joshua were slightly too obsessed with getting lady's attention. And they all know why, too.

"Hagrid? D'you need a hand?"

"Is that the bad-Potter? Trying to get as popular as his friend?" Some random third or fourth years near then snorted.

"Go fuck yourself." Max and Joshua chorused in perfect unison, nicely shutting up the murmuring crowd. Well, for at least a few seconds.

"He's just salty he's not as famous as his dad."

"Infamous rather than famous."

"Seriously, what's your problem?" Joshua scoffed.

"At least you all know who he is, unlike your pathetic arses who have to whisper about someone you're _so_ 'not obsessed with' behind their back. Go get a hobby, you dickless wankers." Max sighed, disgust painted on his face, and turned away from the effectively shut-up Gryffindors who at least had the presence to go a little red around the ears.

Scorpius had to admit, ever since Max had fallen into this increasingly bad mood, his insult game had got a hell of a lot better.

"Nice one."

"Oh, yeah. Thanks." He folded his arms stoically, eyes trained across the hall to the opposite staircase.

Albus was now helping Hagrid to lighten the weight of the trees, and they'd already got two inside, between them.

"We should really probably help." Scorpius sighed, watching as a third tree was seamlessly carried into the hall.

"No, leave it." Alfie declared, watching with a fond smile. "Let Al have this one."

Scorpius saw what he meant at once. Albus was always the reserve, never the chaser. It wouldn't be such a bad thing for him to do this, alone. Besides, every bird had to stretch their wings sometimes.

"I worry about that boy." Joshua sighed. "I mean, have you guys ever thought about him living alone?"

Scorpius had. When the two of them were younger, they'd decided that they were going to live together as soon as they moved out of Hogwarts - a little flat in London or somewhere else equally as anonymous. Close enough to home that Albus could go back to his mother if necessary, and far enough away from Scorpius' that he wouldn't be living under the spectre of his mother's grave. But then, things changed. Scorpius watched the fifth and sixth trees go in vacantly. Statistically, most wizards graduated, got a job, and married within the next one to five years. Chances are, you'd marry the girl you were with when you graduated. Some said it was a bit of magic innate within the graduation ceremony, some said it was just luck of the draw. Either way, Scorpius somehow knew that within the next ten years, he'd be asked to be the godfather of one of Albus and Lydia's children. Besides, even if Albus had no idea in hell what he wanted to do after school, Scorpius did. And the Plantestrode laboratories were in the highlands of Scotland, and with the job Scorpius was going to do… he might have to live up there.

Post-graduation life looked pretty lonely for Scorpius. So he tried with all his might not to think about it as often as possible.

"Oh, he's never going to live alone." Amelie declared with utmost certainty.

"Oh?"

"Lydia's basically been in love with him for years. I don't see that going downhill anytime soon." She turned to look at Scorpius. "Do you?"

Well, at least the two of them agreed on something.

The entrance hall erupted into applause as the final of the two trees that framed the entrance to the Great Hall went up, showering Hagrid and Albus in a shower of pine needles. Awkwardly, Albus milled around with Hagrid, quite clearly desperately trying to ignore the applause and the redness slowly creeping up his neck.

"Merlin's beard he's like an awkward little duck or something."

"Ah yeah, but our favourite duck." Scorpius grinned, joining in even louder with the cheers.

Flitwick enchanted the trees' decorations on in the drop of a hat, and it was finally dinner time. Lydia gave Albus a quick peck on the cheek as she passed by, as seemingly every student in the entire school flooded in for tea all at once.

"That was nice of you, Albus. Hello, Professor Hagrid."

"Oh, Alfie. How many time 'ave I told yeh to just call me Hagrid? Everyone does that."

Alfie nodded, slightly abashed; he was one of those people who would eternally struggle to call his professors by their first name after graduation. "Sorry. Yeah. Thank you, anyway."

"It's me job. But still, Al here's always been a good kid." He beamed down, patting Albus very harshly on the head. By accident, of course.

"Oh, hello Rose!" Hagrid beamed, his bellowing voice booming to fill the entire hall. "You should come over for tea, soon. It's been a while and, well, it'd be good to talk to yeh."

"Of course. I'll owl you soon." She smiled, deftly taking Scorpius aside by the hand.

"Uh—Rose?" He spluttered. "W-What is it?"

She rolled her eyes, "nothing like _that_." She smirked, coming to a stop a little ways away. "I was wondering - when does the potion need to be checked on next?"

"Oh, right." He couldn't lie: he was slightly disappointed. "When did we last check on it?"

"Last Thursday."

"So, it's been a week…" He thought about it; truthfully, he didn't have the recipe _exactly_ memorised, but he seemed to remember it would be about a week and a half of ferreting before it would be ready for the last steps. "Saturday, I suppose."

"Saturday— like this Saturday?" She swore to herself under her breath.

"Quidditch." They chorused.

"It's uh— it's okay. I'll go and tend to it. It might be a bit early on Saturday, anyway - could be ready on Sunday instead."

She nodded, sadly. And not quite being able to make eye contact, she said, "I've missed seeing you there, you know. Away from prying eyes."

Scorpius couldn't bring himself to move. It really always was the quiet ones.

The next time he was fully aware of his surroundings, he was walking back into the hall to join his friends for dinner.

"Alright there?" Max said, with what must've been his first smile of the day.

"Uh-yeah. Yeah. 'M fine."

"Okay." Max could barely keep his mirth contained. "But you know if you ever need anything then Joshua and I are—"

"No please don't." Albus spluttered, swilling his Pumpkin juice in record time. "She's still my _cousin_ , you freaks."

"It's not us you should have the problem with! It's him!" Max pointed an accusing finger at Scorpius, which he only now recovered the presence of mind to protest.

"You started it!"

"Come on now ladies, we're not five, are we?" Joshua said nonchalantly.

"Ladies." Albus huffed under his breath, dragging the bowl of roast potatoes over and heaping a couple on his pate.

"The decorations look lovely this year, don't they?" Scorpius said, trying to strike up a new conversation that wasn't likely to be so offensive.

Flitwick had, as always, outdone himself this year. The trees, all six of them places regularly around the walls of the hall, all leading to a huge one behind the Professor's desks, were covered in golden tinsel and candles aflame with a warm, orange light that never extinguished. Fairies fluttered around them, and red, emerald, yellow and navy bulbuls hung from their branches. The hanging candles in the sky were now laced with stripes of red like muggle's candy canes, and a large holly bough lay around the top of the panelling on the walls. It not only looked but smelt of Christmas too.

"Yeah. So anyway," Joshua resumed, with a mischievous grin, "we seriously don't know how you're going to live alone. Can't stomach a bit of applause? You should drink it up!"

Albus shighed. "What is it? Pick on a Potter day?"

"Isn't that every day?"

"Oh fuck off." Albus huffed.

"No but seriously, I do worry about you sleeping through your alarm one day and getting fired from work."

Even Scorpius was with Max on that one. That being said... "oh, hi pot, meet kettle!"

Max shrugged. "I'm never going to live alone. I'll be fine."

"That's awfully confident." Alfie said with eyebrows raised in evident, unvoiced, judgement.

"Well, you know me." Max shot him a charismatic smile.

Face falling, Alfie capitulated, "yeah, I do."

"Oh, Oh! You know, I actually decided what I'm going to do the other day!"

"Oh?" Scorpius was mildly alarmed and slightly hurt. Albus hadn't mentioned anything about this to him...

"Yeah. So, Grace Hill gave me the idea—"

"Grace who?"

"Hufflepuff. Ginger, plaits. Talks a lot."

"Oh," Joshua nodded, "okay sorry."

"Anyway. So she was talking about how she really wants to be a healer at St Mungo's, and I was asking her about why. She said she'd always been best at healing charms and it's what she liked doing, to which I realised, hey, I like that too!"

"That's true, you are very good at them."

"Thanks Alfie. So, I asked her more about it and stuff, and she suggested I go talk to Madam Clair with her. So we went, and I've basically decided. I'm going to be a healer!"

Albus was beaming with a smile so wide it was almost unmatched in Scorpius' memory. He felt his own face spreading into a beaming grin, too.

Before Scorpius even had a chance to express his joy, Max and Joshua, smiles matching terribly, got in before him.

"So you're going to be a nurse?"

"You really are a girl."

"Will they make you wear a dress, or just a frilly little hat?"

"Go fuck yourselves."

"We will. And it doesn't matter how hurt we get, because Nursey will mend us in no time."

Scorpius heard Alfie sigh dramatically from next to him.

"I know they're only teasing him but they can be actual nobs sometimes."

Scorpius hummed. "I don't know. I'd think they were nobs if they didn't know what they're saying is a load of bollocks, but they do. I guess that's the difference between them and Daniel Wood-types."

"Yes, I suppose so."

"We're only messing with you, Al."

"Yeah, we're just teasing."

Joshua and Max laughed, as though proving Scorpius' point.

"Congrats, I'm glad you finally figured out what you want to do."

"You'll never be out of work with the MHS, after all."

Scorpius smiles. Well, that was one benefit. The MHS, or, Magical Health Service, always seemed to need more healers. So if you worked out that was what you wanted to do quick enough, you were guaranteed a job for life. Well, unless you got gravely injured or something. That had been known to happen.

"You'll be a great healer, Al." Scorpius said, and a significant look passed between the two. They'd always been close, having a deep bond since pretty much the instant they met. And right then, in that moment, it felt like it had been a bond that had existed for ever, and would exist forevermore. Like together, they'd just passed a milestone, and the next one would come along when it came - but Scorpius would be there, there was no doubt about that.

"Congrautlations, Al. You'll be wonderful,"

"Yeah, well that's one of us who doesn't have to worry about jobs now. Even if we've still got a year left? I'm bloody terrified."

"You should see the Seventh Years, they're catatonic." Albus sighed. "I kind of wish James would just do the same for once, instead of being such a slick git."

"Yeah, but he's _James Potter_. Life will always go smoothly for him."

And as if to prove Max' point, there was James Potter now - snogging the face off of Millie Longbottom, the hot daughter of one of the most popular Professors. In front of her dad, too.

"Sweet Arthur he's got balls." Joshua whispered, almost in awe.

"Oh, he'll have it coming at Christmas. He's not _quite_ as aware of Professor Longbottom's close relationship with mum and dad as I am. He likes to 'pretend it doesn't exist so it doesn't feel like mum and dad are watching me 24/7'. He'll get his earful." Albus grinned, darkly.

"And creepy Potter strikes again." Joshua breathed.

"Do any of you know what you want to do?"

Scorpius was suddenly very interested in the food on his plate. He could feel Albus' eyes boron a whole into his head, but that would be easy enough to sort out later. He had a meeting tonight, and he didn't want to jinx it.

"I might join the Ministry," Joshua said, as though contemplating it for the very first time.

"Oh well no shit, genius, pretty much all of us will join the Ministry."

"I mean because I could live in the Muggle world still, couldn't I?" Joshua rolled his eyes.

"Would you ever do that?"

Joshua grimaced. "I'm not sure I could handle it. And Amelie thinks it would be an awful idea. Besides, a good starting position in the Ministry can see you through for your whole career."

"I... think I just watched part of you die." Scorpius looked at Joshua, aghast. He'd never given such a reasonable answer to anything in his life. "Are you okay?"

"He's clearly off his rocker." Max waved a dismissive hand. "What about you, Alfie?"

"Oh, me? Well, I might join the WWL."

"And again, for us non-nerds?"

"The Wizarding World Library. It's the biggest wizarding library in the world - in Paris."

"You speak French?"

"Mais oui."

Even Scorpius was taken aback. Alfie really was one of those people where you learnt something new every day.

"I think you'd do well there."

"Thanks, Scorpius. My Uncle still works there, anyway, so I'll go and see him over summer."

"Ah, to come from a family like yours. Must be nice." Joshua ribbed.

Really, though. He was right.

* * *

Scorpius checked his watch again and sighed. It was still only 6:52. And it didn't take eight minutes to get there - more like three, because Merlin knows he'd checked before.

"Scorpius, please calm down. You're shaking the table with your leg." Alfie said, pointing to his rather full ink pot resting on the table that indeed, Scorpius' leg was shaking pretty furiously.

"O-Oh. Yeah. Sorry."

"What's wrong? Are you going to ask Rose to the Ball again? Because honestly, I'm thinking a nice, handwritten invitation might be the way to go—"

"No, not this time." Scorpius interrupted Max, who raised his eyebrows irately. "Although thanks for the idea. I'm thinking she might actually say yes if I ask her in a week or two."

"Uh— Scor? The Ball's in two weeks. You and she are basically the only people without a date. You'll _have_ to go with each other." Albus supplied.

"Oh. Oh," Scorpius perked up, realising that Rose not having a date for this long was surely a good sign. "Anyway," he looked at his watch. 6:55. "Oka,y I'm off. I've got a meeting with Slughorn."

Albus eyes him suspiciously, again. Scorpius really wasn't escaping this one. "What about?"

"Oh it's just uh— it's preliminary stuff for a... thing."

"Wow, how to sound suspicious in one step by Scorpius Malfoy." Joshua snorted, and Scorpius was halfway to the door before he thought of a halfway passable retort. That was, a swear word shouted across the room, which the younger, prissier students didn't take well to.

Hastily walking down the empty castle corridors, Scorpius was almost about to drop when he finally made it to Slughorn's door. Either from a nerves-induced heart-attack or frostbite from the bitingly cold winter air.

He gave three sharp raps on the door and stood back.

"Ah, Scorpius my boy! Come in, come in." Professor Slughorn, wearing a velvet waistcoat and rather jauntily angled fez opened the door, and ushered him in to the warmth of his office.

"Thank you, Professor."

"Ah, now then. Come through here and I'll introduce Charles Plantastrode to you."

Slughorn lead him through to the sitting room on their immediate right, a comfy, cosy little room with warm, yellowy light streaming from the lampshades and very plush red sofas to sink into.

There, on one of the sofas almost opposite the door, was a young man. Sharply dressed in a neat, well-tailored pinstripe suit and a cup of tea balanced in his rather thin hand, he looked every inch the 'modern-businessman' those Muggle papers were always going on about. Dark blonde, with a pointed little bearded and twirly moustache, he couldn't have been older than twenty-four, but his eyes, as soon as they laid on Scorpius, we're so very clearly intelligent and searching it intimidated him.

"Charles, this is young Scorpius! Scorpius, I'd like you to meet Charles Plantastrode. He's come to get all the boring paperwork and initial talks out the way."

Scorpius was almost in a daze at this point. Most days, he completely forgot about all this. And whenever he did remember it, he often dismissed it as a daydream of folly. Yet here he was, really about to do this: get he job he'd always wanted. It was almost unimaginable; enough to make him completely seize up or go into terrible-joke-making-mode.

But he pushed himself to act like a normal person, because this time, it was really going to matter.

"A pleasure to meet you, Mr Plantastrode," he said, shaking Charles' outstretched hand, "and thank you very much for this opportunity."

"Horace tells me you're quite the prodigal potions-maker, we couldn't pass up such a talent."

"Oh," Scorpius said, trying desperately not to devolve into a spluttering mess, "I think Professor Slughorn flatters me too much."

"Nonsense, Scorpius! You are an excellent student. Now, sit— here, would you like some tea?"

"Oh, yes please." Scorpius said, sitting down and falling miles back into the squishy cushions. He propped himself back up just in time to catch the cup and sorcer flying towards him.

"Sugar? Milk?"

"A spot of milk and 1 sugar, please."

Scorpius guessed. He had absolutely no idea what he was saying - he never drank tea, he hated it! It tasted like muddy water. And yes, he did know that that mean he would inevitably have to relinquish his Britishness when it one day became public. So he took his first, tentative sip and then spent the next few minutes trying to not vomit in his own mouth.

"So, let's get down to business."

Charles summoned a set of rather long documents from the briefcase tucked neatly next to his seat, and enchanted the papers to open to the first page. Scorpius was so excited for Chirstmas when he could finally, finally do things like that at home! He could move things around, draw the curtains from his bed, play with Theia without moving...

 _Focus_! He yelled at himself.

"These documents are mostly just to set out the position you'd be taking, your pay, the requirements we expect of you before graduation, and so on. This copy is for you to read before you sign, so take them with you and read them at your leisure."

"Right..." was all Scorpius could manage to get out, stunned as he was. He gathered the papers in his arms, sitting the thick pile neatly in his lap. Well, if he was probably going to tell them all about this job before, he was going to have to tell them now. There's no way you can hide a Professor-Binns-length-essay amount of paper that easily.

"While we obviously want you to work with us, we do require a little - ah— /sample/ of your work beforehand, just to certify your abilities. Do you happen to have any potions that would be suitable for such a purpose?"

"Oh, well..." the bubbling cauldron of Amortentia burned in his mind. But if there was one thing that looked dodgier than a black-robed wizard stealing away in the night, it was a teenage on with a cauldron of Amortentia. Especially when the said teenager had a newly-acquired love interest. "Well—"

"The class is all brewing Verituerum for their first exam, but that still has rather a long way to go. Perhaps it'd be best to set a new potion for this. As for Alchemy — you still have that gold you weaned from lead last week, no?"

Scorpius nodded. "Yes, I've still got the gold in my folder in your classroom. And I'm happy to make whatever potion, too."

Well - any except Polyjuice Potion. Sometimes even look at the recipe gave him shivers of dislike - he _hated_ the method. Hated, hated, _hated_.

"I see. Not to worry. Horace, if you could send me the gold by owl-post I'd appreciate it. As for the potion, well, why not kill two birds with one stone?" He took out a sheet of seemingly blank parchment. "On here is the recipe for a new pain-potion we are developing. However, only employees of Plantastrode Laboratories may view our recipes until they're released to the public, so it will only become visible if and when you decide to sign the documents. Is everything clear?"

"Certainly, Mr Plantastrode."

Charles, pausing from straightening out his waistcoat, gave a deceptively warm smile. "Please, call me Charles. I assume you are willing to take up the position, after all?"

He didn't even have to think about it. He knew this was what he wanted to do. "Yes. Yeah, I will."

"Then I look forward to hearing from you soon." He stood, and Scorpius and Slughorn followed suit. He gave Scorpius a firm shake of the hand and quiet 'congratulations', before turning to Slughorn. "It has been wonderful to see you again, Horace. And my Uncle reminds you that you are, of course, always welcome to stop by."

"Thank you, my boy. It's just these bones are getting old, you see." He guffawed, and Charles gave him an appropriately considerate smile.

"Still, my family would be happy to see you. Oh, and please don't forget to send over the gold - as soon as is convenient, really." He said, as Slughorn guided him to the door with Scorpius trailing somewhat flatly behind.

"Of course of course. And Mcgonagall told you where you can apostate from?"

"Yes, she informed me quite thoroughly."

"And you'll have no trouble getting out of the castle— I'm sure Scorpius could guide you."

He pushed Scorpius forwards with a stronger arm than he thought Slughorn capable of.

"Why of course I remember my way out! But it would be good to have a guide, anyway. Thank you, Scorpius,"

"Of course," he said, taking himself by surprise with his lack of stumbling. "Thank you, Professor Slughorn."

"No problem, dear boy! I will see you in class."

Scorpius nodded with a smile, and then he was out in the cold corridor with Charles Plantastrode, door to Slughorn's office slamming shut.

"Well. Shall we?" Charles suggested, holding out a hand.

Scorpius nodded, suddenly overcome with shyness. Now, of all times.

"It has been quite some time since I walked these corridors at night. Nonetheless, I still remember it fondly."

"These corridors are always absolutely freezing at night, no matter the weather of the day." Scorpius said, and immediately had no idea why he said it.

"Well, I suppose you're right. Although I never really noticed; I was always too busy sneaking around and making potions."

"You were?" Scorpius asked, without hesitation.

"Of course. I am a Plantastrode."

"I see..."

"And if you were to tell me that you also brew potions discreetly - which I would not advise for you to tell me - I would not be surprised."

Scorpius was almost taken aback. Clearly, Charles has read him very thoroughly when he haltingly explained that he had no potions currently brewing.

"Here we are. I do look forward to you joining us, Scorpius, Horace is rarely this enthusiastic about a student of his. Either you have worked your way into his favours remarkably well over the years, or you must have outstanding talent."

"Ah. Well, I'm not sure about the talent, but I was certainly not in anybody's good books until very recently."

"Yes. There were rumblings even when I was here." Charles stood to face Scorpius in the mouth of the Great Hall. "Then, farewell for now. Don't hesitate to owl me with any questions, and do remember to send us a sample of your potion once it has been brewed. It should only take two weeks."

Scorpius nodded. "Thank you, Charles. And your uncle, too."

He merely nodded, before turning to walk through the courtyard, and out away into the night.

Scorpius let out a huge breath he didn't even know he'd been holding. And then, the euphoria set it.

* * *

 _Weeeeee! I love it when things are going well for Scorpius._

 _So, what do you guys think is coming next? Hint: it's *biiiiiiig*._

 _Please review if you've got time, and follow for more. Thanks!_


	21. The Invitation

**_Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter_**

 _Hello friends! Welcome back to another chapter. Thank you to **MLMarint** , **Guest** (Thank you so much! That is very high praise indeed!), **Guest** , **reppad98** (Thank you very much for all your pointers there! I plan to go back and have a thorough re-edit when I get time in Christmas break so that's really helpful, thank you!), **catwomannnn1** and **Guest** for your reviews! Seriously, I'm 6 days away from the end of the penultimate term in my final year of university, so it really is all your wonderful reviews that keep me writing at this point. Thank you all!_

 _It's a big one (plot-wise, it's actually rather short this week...) so I hope you_

 _enjoy!_

* * *

 _Chapter 21: Quidditch_

The morning of the match dawned with a cold, crisp chill in the air. Scorpius opened his eyes abruptly, retinas still tattooed with the image of the dark room with his weeping father and dying mother, and took a deep breath. It filled his lungs with icy air.

He shook himself awake, sitting upright. The nightmare would fade, as always, into the back of his mind. And he'd forget for a few nights. But that lingering feeling of discomfort hung over him as he washed, dressed, and read in the common room until he and the others made their way over to the Great Hall for breakfast.

"Oft, you can almost _feel_ the anxiety," Joshua commented with a shiver. Today was the Gryffindor versus Ravenclaw match, and even between the five of them, the tension was palpable. Joshua supported Ravenclaw - of course he did, he'd do anything Amelie asked. Scorpius and (hesitantly) Albus were supporting Gryffindor. And Max and Alfie sat uncomfortably in between as a buffer between the two opposing sides.

"I seriously don't know who I'll be supporting," Max commented as they sat down at their table. "I mean, sure, Al's family and Scorpius' girlfriend are in Gryffindor."

"Not my girlfriend but okay."

"But then, there's Lydia and people in Ravenclaw."

"I know. I think no matter where I go I'll get my eyeballs ripped out." Albus lamented sadly. "But Lydia gave me her blessings so it's only her friends I'll have to worry about."

"Ah, Amelie would never do that. She wants me by her side too much." Joshua declared, hiding his goofy grin behind a spoonful of soggy cereal.

Max did nothing but gave him a significant look when he wasn't watching. "Alfie, where are you heading?"

Alfie looked around the group. "I'll go to Ravenclaw with Joshua. You go to Gryffindor."

Max nodded, looking relieved. Best friends though they may be, if Joshua said one more thing about Amelie in the next five minutes, Max might really swing for him.

"Aight. The game should be starting soon, anyway." Max commented, nodding over to the Gryffindor table.

Scorpius turned in unison with Albus to see almost all of his relatives get up on cue.

"You've got to have some weird relation to the founders of Quidditch or something."

Albus shrugged. "It's just what we do all summer. Guess we're boring like that or something."

"Hardly," Scorpius snorted, as they watched the team of seven be led out of the hall by Jasmine Taylor-Thomas, their captain. Now that was a promotion no-one saw coming: they all thought it'd be James. If not James, then at least Rose. But Jasmine was a good Captain according to Rose. If she weren't and it made it all the easier to beat them come the Spring, Scorpius wouldn't mind too much, though.

Her hair clashed awfully with their bright scarlet robes, but Scorpius couldn't care less. He always thought she looked beautiful, no matter what.

"Oh, there's the Ravenclaw team too," Max commented as their team, lead by some really buff-looking guy, filled out just after Gryffindor.

"Recon they'll get into a fight on the way down?"

"That hasn't happened since our third year, Joshua."

Joshua shrugged. "Still a good story, though."

Joshua, who had happened to see the fight in person, had never quite let them forget about what he witnessed that year. It had been spectacular, apparently. George Meadowfield and Alex Maethal - the Gryffindor and Slytherin captains, respectively - had got into a physical fight that had escalated quite spectacularly from a verbal one. Both were seventh years, and both had to spend every Friday in detention after that, as well as be kicked off the Quidditch teams. Then, both teams had been disqualified and Hufflepuff had soared to an easy victory by Christmas that year. But more to the point, Alex Maethal apparently had such a good right hook that George Meadowfield's face and her hand had been bruised for a week!

Twenty more minutes, and it was time for them to all flood down to the Quidditch pitch like a torrent of raindrops falling from the highest gutters of the castle.

Scorpius had to admit, as he walked down amongst the loud wave of students crashing past him and his friends, it was nice not to be the one playing for once. He didn't feel like he was about to throw up a niffler from the anxiety, and it was a lovely feeling.

"I don't know if I'm glad I'm not playing or nervous for everyone else."

"Both?" Scorpius snorted as Albus fiddled restlessly with the tasselled ends of his scarf.

"Best of both worlds, eh?" Albus snorted and came to a slow as they reached the edge of the pitch.

"All right, we'll see you later." Alfie said, on behalf of him, and the snogging Amelie-Joshua amalgamation. "5 sickles on Gryffindor to win?"

"With what money?" Max snorted, low enough for only Scorpius to hear.

"Shouldn't you be over here with that kind of wager?"

Alfie shrugged. "I've got friends in Ravenclaw."

Scorpius nodded without a second thought. Of course he did, he was Alfie. He knew everyone.

Separating with a wave to the three, Max, Albus and Scorpius clambered up the rickety wooden stairs to the Gryffindor stands, and weaselled their way to a position near enough to the front.

"When did all the first years grow so tall?!" Albus lamented as he peered around a particularly tall but still baby-faced student.

"About that..."

"We've got some news for you there, Al." Scorpius and Max chorused in perfect harmony.

Albus only responded with his signifier dark look and rolled eyes.

"Oh, Max? Scorpius, Albus?" Scorpius turned at the sound of his voice, to see Lola just behind him, standing next to Paige Finnegan.

"Oh, Lola! Morning." Max greeted, deceptively brightly. Since when had _that_ friendship happened? "How're you two doing?"

"Not so bad thanks. Yourselves?"

Max, Albus and Scorpius all gave that non-committal shrug that meant that whilst none of them was actually dying, they'd most certainly been better before.

"Where's Isabelle?" Albus asked, looking for the third of the trio.

Paige pointed to a few rows in front of them. "She's down there, with Harry Shaw?"

" _Harry Shaw_?!" Max asked, apparently astounded.

"Yeah," Lola sighed, "we know."

"Good Morning ladies and gentlemen!" The voice of Lorcan - or perhaps Lysander - Scamander rang out over the crisp morning air with a resounding metallic tinge, cutting off whatever dumb thing Max was inevitably about to say.

"Ooh, here we go!"

"Maybe I'll bet on Ravenclaw..." Albus sighed as he looked down at the teams: almost all his cousins for Gryffindor, but a strong, strapping man for Ravenclaw's keeper, a petite little girl for their seeker, two strong looking beaters and very adequate looking chasers.

"Whoever that goalie is he's _buff_. Not in a gay way, though."

Scorpius rolled his eyes as Albus huffed a heavy sigh. "Anyone would think you're insecure, you arsehole."

"Oi!"

"Anyway, Fred told me Hugo told him that he's actually their leader. Harvey Payne. And he's a chaser. That guy two down from him - yeah, him there," Albus said, gesticulating down at the tiny looking players on the pitch, "yeah he's the goalie."

"Him? But he's like... normal build and stuff."

"And?"

"I'm just saying," Max put his hands up defensively, "I thought keepers were supposed to be big or whatever."

"How've we been friends for two years and you still don't know anything about Quidditch?"

"Because I have my priorities correct."

Mercifully, whatever his list of priorities were was drowned out by the piercing sound of the whistle being blown and the crowd cheering on the first few seconds of the match.

"Wooo! Go Gryffindor!" Albus said, and immediately clocked the looks that Scorpius and Max we're giving him. "Yes, I know. I am trash."

"And that's Lily Potter with the ball, flying so well down the pitch - I've been meaning to ask her to the—-"

The microphone gave a screech, and Scorpius could just make out Professor Henrich wrenching it from Lysander's hands - it must've been if Albus was right about his obsession with Lily. "Sorry 'bout that. Anyway, Lavender Patil now in possession, and she passes to Sarah Michaels, who's passing it to— oh! That's a bludger right to the kidney. She'll feel that one for a week!"

Sarah Michaels, a youngish looking chaser for Ravenclaw was thrust forwards on her broom with the strength of the blow. Scorpius lurched forwards, but Max and Albus our out their arms to stop him from actually falling, thankfully.

"Careful there."

"You're not saving anyone today, Mr Hero." Albus said, with a twinkle in his eye.

"Looks like she's recovered. But now James Potter has the quaffle, and he's flying down the pitch with it. Past Ryan Greene and - oh! - not passing to Lily Potter! But now he's rounding near the end of the pitch and he's throwing the quaffle ambitiously to Rose Weasley. She catches... and she scores! Theo Russell dives out of the way, and that's 10 points to Gryffindor!

The stand they were standing in erupted into cheers. Scorpius, Max and Albus, too, cheered like no tomorrow, beaming from ear to ear and Rose raced past them.

Scorpius looked around the pitch. Both seekers were hovering in the air; Ruby Taylor floating near the Ravenclaw goal posts and Phoebe Allsop doing slow laps of the pitch. Clearly, neither had seen the tricksy little snitch yet.

"Any sign of the snitch yet?" Max asked.

"What do you think I have — magical eyes?"

"Well, kinda?" He admitted with a slight bite under his voice and went back to staring at decidedly not the Quidditch pitch.

He was staring at Isabelle.

Well _now_ / it all made sense!

Scorpius excitedly looked over to Albus, who'd already caught on by himself. They shared a meaningful glance and Scorpius restrained a grin.

After all, it would serve Max, the most philandering of all the Slytherin, right for the way he'd treated all the other girls in the past, to be attracted to a girl he couldn't have.

" _This_. _Is_. _Amazing_."

Their attention was drawn back to the pitch when a cheer went up all around them and Lorcan Scamander announced, "that's ten points to Ravenclaw! The two teams are neck and neck now!"

But it didn't stay that way for long. Ravenclaw somehow managed to score again not twice or three times - but scored four more goals!

"We May have all been betting on the wrong team..." Max sighed, as they watched yet _another_ / quaffle fly past Jasmine and through Gryffindor's hoops.

"Oh— I don't know, actually..." Scorpius muttered. Phoebe has stopped doing her typical circling. She was flying hastily over to the Gryffindor hoops, and only now was Ruby Taylor noticing - but she was at the other end of the pitch!

"I think Phoebe Allsop has found the snitch! She's racing over to Gryffindor's hoops and oh— there she is! She has the snitch!"

Scorpius could just about see a tiny golden fleck in Phoebe's hand. And the stand around them drowned out whatever else Lorcan had to say for a long time. The two teams spiralled down to the ground, and Gryffindor almost bowled over their young seeker. When she next emerged, she was as bright red as a tomato.

"We won! We won!" Albus cheered. Scorpius watched him, and couldn't help but smile; it was moments like this why you just /knew/ that deep down, Albus loved his family more than anything.

"Yeah," Scorpius commented, as he watched the team - and more specifically Rose, who had a wide smile plastered on her face, "yeah. They did."

* * *

"I 'eard there's a massive party over in the Room of Requirement. Why aren't you there?" Alys floated down to 'sit' next to Scorpius.

He shrugged. "Not my party, is it? The Gryffindors are celebrating and it's not really my place to get involved."

Alys shifted slightly out of the corner of his eye.

"What?" He asked, abandoning the potion to look at her.

"I don't understand you 'umans these days. Back in my day, if you found someone you liked you'd start courting then marry by the time you were sixteen. My year 'ad a lot of marriage ceremonies at graduation."

Scorpius frowned. "Right... thanks."

"I'm just saying that if you like that ginger girl 'oo comes in 'ere with you all the time, you should tell-'er."

He sighed. "Yep. You're right. I probably should. But the thing is," he said, going back to stirring his cauldron, "I don't know if she feels the same way."

Alys sighed. "You men are totally 'elpless on your own. Really, I often wonder how I was born at all." She flew off with a tut, fading through the walls and presumably going to find her friend the grey lady, who was also always up for a chat about how useless men were. Now in the Grey Lady's case, Scorpius could see why. But for Alys, he had a feeling it was just years of watching clueless teenagers that made her lose faith in men - and women, too.

As the ball approached, Scorpius was starting to feel that way too.

One week left until the ball. One week left for Rose to suddenly fall as madly in love with him as he was with her. Or? They'd both end up going alone. And how horrible would that be? Scorpius knew he was massively uncool, but Merlin that was too much even for him! Everyone had got a date - even Evan from the other Slytherin room who no one liked!

Scorpius flopped down in his seat and listened to the wind howl and rain smash against the tower.

It had turned into pretty appalling weather this evening. They'd first had a sign when they saw Hinkypunks swimming frantically down to the floor of the Great Lake. That always meant that bad weather was coming. Then, Max, Alfie and Albus had disappeared off to the party, and Joshua was off somewhere, probably with Amelie. He could've gone to the party. He knew that. He knew that even as he sat there, cold and alone in the tower. But it just didn't feel _right_. There were just seven days left before the Ball, and he still hasn't been able to convince Rose to go with him. And he wasn't sure if he was going to be able to. So going to that party and feeling his miserable would've been _disastrous_. He decided that it was better for him to just sulk our his sadness, disappointment, and any other number of negative emotions right here, instead.

He wondered if this was what life would be like for him. Dramatic, he knew, but the thought crossed his mind nonetheless. What if Rose never came to like him that much? And he was stuck in this horrible limbo forever? Everyone around him had someone, and her there was Scorpius, still all alone. All alone, and no sign of that ever improving sometime soon.

He looked back to the love potion. It was done already, he'd been right. It shone a glimmering magenta and have the space around it a glow as though the very ground were blushing. He peered over the rim and gave it another stir for good measure.

The delightful smell of freshly cut grass and roses and fresh bread. He knew exactly why he smelt all these things. Roses for her name, the grass for when they'd first really spoken, in Quidditch practice in first year, and the bread because he'd had a bag full of that on the Hogwarts Express going into their third year when he'd seen her and his infatuation had fallen hopelessly into love.

Well, Hopelessly was the right word alright.

The door of the tower burst open, and a figure, clothed in shadow, hurried through the door. Scorpius didn't even have time to register who it was before they were snogging his face off.

Wait—-

Scorpius had never done this before. But there was a very soggy girl with her lips stuck to his, one hand on his jaw and the other in his hair.

He put a hand around her back and felt a handful of curly hair. Curly _red_ hair. It had to be. And only one person had hair like that...

"Rose?" He whispered as they parted.

"Of course. Who else?"

He's never seen her this close up before. She had a hundred freckles over her nose but none of them were the same shape. And there was a tiny blue speck just below her left iris.

"W-What're you doing here?"

"I'd rather be with you than at the party."

He was stunned into silence.

"And... I was thinking. Want to go to the Ball with me?"

He wasn't sure if he actually heard a thunderclap outside or if it were just his heart beating fifty times the normal rate.

If he had been stunned to silence before, now he'd been physically shocked. Every nerve ending, every fibre of his being was like a firework. He didn't know what to say. 'Yes' felt too simple. So he answered in the only way he saw fit.

He kissed her.

* * *

 _I said there was something big coming! I told you! I'm so happy~~ I hope you liked it, too!_

 _Please review if you've got time (seriously, they're getting me through this stupid-cold winter!), and follow for more. Thanks!_


	22. Anticipation

**_Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter_**

 _Thank you to my lovely reviewers **Guest** , **catwomannnnn1** , **MLMarint** (Happy birthday!), **Guest** , **Guest** , **Shadwood** (don't worry, a few more chapters to go! But thank you so much for joining us!) **reppad98** , **Corellia11270** (I shall address my thoughts on a sequel in the final chapter, but not to give too much away - yes, I do indeed have something in the works). So. The feedback from the last chapter was just *amazing*. This week was tough in reality, so it was just so nice to read all of your reviews - and we passed 100! This has been a thrilling experience for me in many ways, but all the support I've received from my lovely readers has absolutely been at the fore of it all. As I always say (but I mean it more every week), thank you all from the bottom of my heart._

 _Apologies for the lateness today, I was travelling home for the holidays!_

 _Enjoy!_

* * *

 _Chapter 22: Anticipation_

It was two days before the ball, and all semblance of teaching at Hogwarts had finally, _thankfully_ , been let go. Even Professor Henrich was treating them more like humans and less like homework-producing-machines. Professor Flitwick had even let them charm a hoard of self-throwing snowballs, which had gone about as well as expected.

"Al, watch out!" Scorpius had shouted, as a huge snowball had hurled itself into Albus' face, and Max had proceeded to die laughing.  
"I'm sorry," Scorpius sighed, as he helped Albus dry himself off.

"It's not _your_ fault, Albus said, giving a pointed stare over at Rhys Owens and friends, who were laughing about as hard as Max was. "I don't get why it's always me who seems to be drowned in snow, though." He sighed, and wiped away a few more drops of water from around his eyes.

But of course, when you left a castle full of excited, hormonal, energetic teenagers to their own devices, all the laws of natural dictates that things were going to go crazy. Headmaster McGonagall had given them a sermon a few days ago when the unruly behaviour had begun, but it didn't help. Hearing a 90-year-old witch who you doubted ever knew how to have fun in the first place tell you not to have fun was kind of like having Hagrid tell you about the importance of being short. So behaviour had rallied up and up until the castle was almost buzzing with energy.

"I heard a rumour they've booked the Wizard Kicks for music," Scorpius heard some thirds years whisper excitedly as they scurried past on the way to dinner. Which was funny, because he'd heard the exact same rumour about the Downtown Boys, Estella Tauris, and Iphigenia and the Fiends being booked. The rumours had escalated to the point where Max had told them about a first year he'd seen excitedly telling her friends all about how there were going to be Hippogriffs dressed in Muggle tinsel to greet them at the doors. Now _that_ was a hard one to believe. A Hippogriff hasn't been seen on site since 1994 - at least, not that Scorpius nor Max knew of.

Scorpius ambled jovially down the corridors from his History of Magic class to Alchemy. Everything had been going very well indeed over the past few days. Rose had snogged him - not once, but _multiple_ times. On the lips. Not in his dreams. In actual reality. It hadn't even been an accident! And, she'd asked him to the Ball. And, now she was his girlfriend, too.

In short, life was amazing and he didn't know if he'd ever been happier than he was right now.

He swanned into the dungeons with a glancing wave at his other class members and sat down next to Albus.

"Alright there, Scor?"

"Of course. I've got absolutely no reason to be upset at all.

Albus snorted. "Merlin, you are over the moon about all this."

Scorpius raised a wry eyebrow. "I'm pretty sure you and Lydia looked the exact same when you two started going out."

Albus opened his mouth to reply but was prevented from actually saying anything by not having a leg to stand on.

"Still, I'm glad you two are finally going out. Even if you look obnoxiously happy."

Scorpius beamed even wider at Albus' words. It meant a lot, coming from him.

"Besides, Rose finally stopped being a complete tight-arse and let herself go a little."

Scorpius decided not to prove his point by telling him what Rose had proposed they do with the freshly brewed love potion. Albus never needed to know about _that_ idea.

—

Even their dorm room at nights was buzzing with anticipation and excitement. Dress-robes lay hung out on their communal wardrobe, in case - Dumbledore forbid - something happened behind those closed doors in the next 48 hours. They were almost universally black or navy or deep grey, and plain as could be when it came to smart dress-robes. And then there were Max'. You didn't even have to ask to be able to tell which his were: deep navy with faint, emerald embroidery of large, exotic looking flowers that shone in the light. Professor Hagrid had once exasperatedly said that Max would never make a wallflower of himself, and Hagrid was absolutely right. Well, in the metaphorical sense. If he got too close to the wall in the right lighting he might end up as one.

Rolling his eyes, Scorpius surveyed the room before him. Albus was fiddling with the laces of his shoes again (which he had already shined three or four times) and Max was doodling something fierce on a piece of parchment that seemed to have Care of Magical Creatures notes on it. Alfie for once wasn't reading, but staring up at the canopy of his bed and had taken up a position that made him look awfully like he was lying in a coffin, and Joshua was staring dreamily off into the middle distance. As for Scorpius: well, he'd been trying to write a letter to his father for the past twenty minutes but had only succeeded in writing one sentence so far. It read,

 _Dear father,_

 _I hope you're doing okay._

Brilliant, he knew.

But seriously though, "Hey, what do I write to my dad?"

"About what?" Albus said, looking up suddenly as though startled from a daze.

"I dunno. Everything." _Rose_. He meant about Rose.

"Tell him everything's normal. Because it is?" Albus said, with a face like a confused twelve-year-old.

"Yeah. Okay."

"Don't tell him about Rose yet, it's too soon." Alfie sighed, still not moving from his death-like position.

"I told my dad and sister immediately. Amelie and I are just so perfect together, it's bound to last long enough for her to meet them." Joshua said, promptly getting up. "I'm going to the loo, anyway."

He swanned out of the room, leaving them all in an awkward silence after him.

"So..." Albus drawled, "are we ever going to tell him that he's about a thousand times more into Amelie than she is into him?"

"Nope." Scorpius said with a resounding stop.

"I _am_ worried about him." Alfie sighed, shuffling into a sitting position. "Inevitably, she's going to dump him, and he'll be so blindsided. It'll destroy him. She's the first girlfriend he's ever had."

"Really?" Scorpius prodded.

"Well, first one who lasted more than a week."

Scorpius nodded. Alfie wasn't wrong. Whenever it happened, whatever did end up happening, it was going to be horrendous. And Scorpius wondered just how soon that was going to be.

"Max?"

Max looked up from his doodling with little more than a glazed look over his eyes, quill still poised over the parchment. "Yeah?"

"Will you try and keep an eye on Joshua?"

"Why?"

"Because inevitably Amelie's going to break his heart...?"

Max frowned. "Why should I?"

"Because he's your best friend...?"

Even Alfie was frowning now.

"It's his own mistake to make. I can't stop that."

"But you could, if you give him a warning."

"No. I can't do that, that's interfering where I'm not needed."

"But doesn't your friendship mean more than that?"

Max went back to doodling on the parchment. "'Course. But I'm not interfering where I'm not needed."

"So you're just going to let a girl get in between you and break his heart, and probably soon?"

Max gave a small moan of irritation and set his parchment aside. "It's not a girl coming between us, it's Josh being a teenage boy and getting way in over his head. For someone who comes across all ' _holier than thou_ ', you really do know nothing about relationships."

Alfie, for the first time in a long time, looked exceedingly angry. Gathering up his bag, he stormed out the room in a matter of seconds, passing a bemused looking Joshua on the way out.

"What was that all about?" He said, eyes wide as he stared after Alfie's already faded back.

"He was just being a twat about something. Ignore him. Ignore him in general." Max snarled.

"What, did you ask him about Mia?"

"Shut the fuck up!" Max hissed, eyes going to Albus and Scorpius.

They shared a glance, and Scorpius said, "We already know you like Isabelle, not Mia. It's not hard to work out."

Max glowered at them. He often got angry and defensive like this when something was really not going his way. "Well, any bright ideas then?"

"One or two." Albus said. "You could just go to the Ball with Mia, but make it clear that you don't feel the same way anymore."

"Too hard."

"You could ignore her."

"Too brutal."

Albus rolled his eyes. "What do you want then?!"

"Isabelle?" He offered, with an expression that was remarkably sheepishly for Max.

"Then you've got to tell Mia." Scorpius sighed. "I know better than most she can be a total pain in the arse, but you owe it to her."

Max rolled his eyes. "I knew you were going to pull out the 'you owe it' line."

"Because it's true. Besides, it's only a _ball_."

All eyes turned on Scorpius.

"Are you joking? We just watched you spend months agonising over that ' _just a Ball_ '." Max said, voice dripping with derision.

Scorpius rolled his eyes. Max could be so arsey when he got like this. And even if Scorpius was pissed off with him, Max did have a bit of a point.

"Really Max, just be honest." Joshua sighed, "it'll just be worse if you don't."

"Fine! Fine." Max groaned. "I'll go find her."

And so he left, leaving the room with a stale, awkward air in his wake. It was as though you could feel the frayed nerves of the five of them burning out in the very atmosphere that surrounded them; threatening to choke them.

"Well."

"Yep."

Scorpius finally turned his attention back to the blank piece of parchment before him. Suddenly, deciding whether to tell his dad about Rose wasn't such a big deal anymore. Not with how many other issues there were clearly cropping up.

 _Things are getting a bit hectic and quite melodramatic over here, but hopefully it'll all pipe down after the ball. Speaking of which, I have a girlfriend! I'll tell you more about it when I get home. Speaking of which, that should be soon. We'll be home at around 5pm, this Sunday._

 _On another note, I have some (more) exciting news. If I brew a potion correctly over the holidays, then I'll have a job after I graduate! I'd rather tell you about it in person, so I'll give you the details then. Nonetheless, I'm still excited about it all._

 _I hope that all your work is still going well at the Ministry._

 _Love,_

 _Scorpius_

"What're you writing about?" Albus asked lazily from his bed. He was still fiddling with the shoelaces.

"Just writing to my dad."

"No, I know that. But you smiled really widely about something."

"Oh." An uncomfortable knot bunched in his stomach. "Yeah, I've just got some news."

"Oh?"

Both Albus and Joshua looked up with piqued interest.

"Yeah. I've got a job. For after we leave."

"What!?"

"Where!? Why didn't you tell me!?"

He could tell in Albus' eyes that he was a bit upset. And Scorpius looked directly at him as he told them the details. "It's a job as an Apprentice at Plantastrode Laboratories. I just need to brew this one potion correctly and then they'll have me."

"That's… amazing! Well done, mate." Joshua grinned, beaming in a way that Scorpius didn't often see from him.

"Congratulations, it's pretty amazing."

"Yeah," Scorpius grinned, "thanks."

The two shared a look. This was not how they'd imagined their future to be. They'd imagined it to be the two of them against the world, alone, but happy at least. They'd hide from everyone and everything somewhere together, and muddle their way through lives that they knew would be happier because at least it wouldn't be Hogwarts. And yet, here they were now. Scorpius with a job that was probably going to put him in the Highlands, and Albus down in London at St Mungo's. Him with Lydia and Scorpius with Rose, and with many shared friends in between. It wasn't how they'd imagined their future, but Scorpius thought that, all things considered, that wasn't such a bad thing.

Nowadays, even the future was looking up.

—

The door to the Owlery seemed to creek louder than ever today. Scorpius stepped into the chilly tower with anxiety in his footsteps, and a heart that leapt like a terrified frog as soon as he saw the dim, glowing light of the lit candles.

"Hello, stranger. I thought you'd never come."

All his nerves, anxiety and terror seemed to catapult into one, paralysing moment. There was Rose. His girlfriend.

And how was he supposed to act now?

Oh, bugger.

How Joshua and Albus and Max and Alfie made it look so easy, he'd never know. Or perhaps, this was only him. Perhaps he was just a bit of a weirdo, and this was something unique to him, and his weirdness. Oh _Merlin_ , why couldn't he even _look_ at her without sweating? How vile.

"What're you waiting for?" Rose asked, looking at him slightly alarmed. "What're you hovering at the door for?"

"I—Uh." Well, great. Now he couldn't even _talk_. What had happened? Had he suddenly reverted back to twelve!? "Yeah." He said, and his voice squeaked embarrassingly as he walked over to her.

"What is it?" She said, standing from her makeshift seat to meet him. She seemed to be completely at one with herself. No sweating, no nerves, no crackling voice. And then she took one more step closer to him, and her eyes were bathed in orangey candle light. Her pupils flickered from pin-pricks to wide and back again at though a heart were beating there, fast. He put a hand on her neck, as though on a trance, cupping her as he leaned towards her. Her pulse was going a mile an hour.

Well, maybe it wasn't just him. Maybe he was just worse at acting.

He leant down and kissed her; soft lips and he could feel a little smile at the corner of her lips. Yep, just as good as the other day.

And his nerves seemed to sink, and untie slightly as he pulled away.

"Sorry. I just…"

"No, it's weird. You call someone your boyfriend and suddenly everything changes. It's like if it had just been kept unspoken things could go on normally but…"

"But now it's been said, it's like an invisible line has been crossed."

She nodded, and they sat across each other; between them the crate that had, until yesterday, had a cauldron full of Amortentia on it.

"So." She said.

"So?" He questioned.

She looked at him, and tilted her had a couple of degrees to the left.

"Oh," he realised what she meant quite suddenly, "I don't really know what there is left for us to go over. Transfiguration? Potion theory? Hey— I could teach you some alchemy!"

"Maybe next time," she laughed. "Let's do transfiguration. But don't you want to know about my dress for tomorrow. So we can coordinate?"  
"Coordinate…?"

"Yeah. Tie to dress colour." Rose said, and had a look on her face as though baffled he didn't know this kind of thing. It didn't feel like the time to remind her that he was both an only child _and_ his parents had never been invited to functions like this before right now.

"Huh. Okay. What're you wearing, then?"

"Emerald green." She said, pulling her wand out of the robe she'd shed some time go. "So, just bear it in mind."

Scorpius nodded. Of course, she'd look gorgeous no matter what she wore, but she always looked wonderful in green. He only hoped he actually managed to transfigure his tie into the kind of green that she meant…

"Want to practice something, then?"  
Scorpius nodded, again. He seemed to be short on words tonight. "What, though?"

"Well, you don't have your cat here, and I don't have Snowy, so we could… practice with this crate! Material transformations!"

Scorpius sighed inwardly. He'd accidentally turned a wooden block into a flaming block of ash a week or so ago. They were supposed to have been turning wood into stone, so he didn't _quite_ get the hang of it, it would be fair to say.

"Okay," he agreed, "but we should check what's inside first."

Rose hummed, and rapped a fist on the crate. It didn't sound hollow inside; instead, the knock sounded deep and rich and as though there very much was something inside the crate.

"Let's open it and see."

The removed the shiny black mat they'd put over the crate, and pulled away their makeshift chairs. It really was a hovel, in here. It had served him well as a hiding spot in his first few years, but now, for the place where he hung out with his girlfriend...? Scorpius wanted desperately to take her up the Yesult tower instead, but Joshua had had a monopoly over the room for several weeks now. It irritated Scorpius to no end - they had actually chairs and heating and lights up there! But, that being said, this tower was always going to have a very special set of memories attached to it for Scorpius. Mostly Rose related, but some others. About his family. That he'd rather forget…

"Here — you get those bolts and I'll do these," Rose said, casting her hair behind her should and already working away at the bolts that clamped her side of the box shut.

"I wonder what's in here, though. It's not like they put any signs on the outside or anything…" Scorpius wondered aloud, working away at the rusted metal of the bolts. It must've been clamped shut over fifty, sixty years ago by now. "Hey, maybe it's some past relic. I heard about this lady, who found a bunch of badges from the past in her attic."

"Badges?"

"Yeah. Maybe?"

"I don't know, it sounded like some kind of fabric to me…" Rose said, and trailed off as she stuck her tongue out of her mouth and continued to pull on the metal.

"Fabric? That'd be such a let down!"

"Maybe it'll be — ah!" Rose yelped as she pushed with all her might on the last bolt one final time and it came flying loose. Scorpius rushed over and caught her just before she fell, crashing down onto the hard, stone floor. He cradled her like those muggle couples always did on their _moovie_ posters. The curve of her waist fit neatly into his hand, and their faces were about an inch from each other. Her eyes searched his face, up and down, and she rested a hand on his cheek ever so gently. Like the touch of a moth to a bright, beautiful light.

"That's the only time I'll let you catch me, Scorpius Malfoy."

He took her smile as implied and leant down to give her a kiss. A deep, long kiss - longer than he really meant. But who could blame him? He was a seventeen-year-old boy, after all.

"So — the box?" Rose said, looking slightly punch-drunk.

"Yeah- Yeah, the box." Scorpius repeated, trying to snap himself back into reality and hoping to Arthur, or Merlin, or whoever, that he didn't snap himself _too_ far.

Rose let out a defeated sigh when she peered into he wooden crate.

"What is it?"

"Seriously!? It _is_ just material." She lifted reams and reams of golden material out of the crates. It looked as though it perhaps could've been satin - but was dull of any shine and slightly scratchy looking. "This is so disappointing. I'd take badges over _this_ anyway."

"I'm sure there's something interesting in this room, just not in this box." Scorpius smiled, helping Rose empty out the box.

The two pulled their chairs over again, sitting next to each other in front of the wooden crate. "So. Transfiguration time?"

"You know I'd rather just talk to you." Scorpius said, feeling his heart flutter strongly as he did.

"Or," Rose said, pulling out her wand, "we could do _both_." She gave that small little smile that she did whenever she was flirting - or at least, _attempting_ to.

"Fine." He sighed, pulling out his wand too.

"You remember what Henrich said?" Rose asked, and Scorpius could feel her watching him intently out of the corner of his eyes.

"Sure. Keep the spell in the forefront of your mind and be sharp with your wand movements."

She hummed in agreement, but added, "be a little bit aggressive with he wand movement, since you're transfiguring into stone."

"Alright. I'll whack it's brains out."

She giggled in a very un-Rose-like, and Scorpius had to take a moment to refocus himself.

" _Transfiguro Duro_." He said, and rapped on the wooden crate, hard.

In a second it had cracked into hard, marble-like stone, before it crumbled into a thousand tiny specks of dust.

"Ah!" Scorpius said, taking cover as the wave of dust rose over the two of them. "What did I do!?" He wailed, bemoaning his efforts as he glared at the pile of dust at his feet.

"It's fine, it's fine. You just went a little bit hard. Try relaxing your wrist a little bit more next time — like this," she gently squeezed at two spots either side of his wrist and the pressure immediately lessened slightly, "better?"

"H-How did you do that!? What kind of witchcraft is this?"

"Well," she smirked, "I hate to tell you, but I _am_ a witch."

He gave a mock little gasp of despair, before joining in her laughter. "Okay, okay. I'll try with the lid." He declared, squaring himself up again.

"Hey — why don't we talk, to relax you a bit?"

"Go on then." Scorpius said, squaring himself up. " _Transfiguro Duro_." The wood turned into a slab of solid stone, and Scorpius could barely believe his eyes. "I did it!"

Rose gave him a peck on the cheek. "Well done. Now change it back - be less aggressive with the wand movement, but still try to keep the pressure out of your wrist."

Scorpius nodded, and took a deep breath.

"So," she drawled, watching as Scorpius successfully changed it back into wood - slightly grey wood, mind, but wood nonetheless. "What's your cat called?"

"Theia."

"That's a… unique name."

Scorpius snorted, internally celebrating as he successfully changed the wood into stone yet again. "It's the name of a Greek Titaness."

"That's…"

"It's a family tradition. Don't ask."

"But I want to."

"Okay," Scorpius said, suddenly becoming much less interested in the wood and much more interested in Rose. "It's a family tradition to name pets after Greek Gods. Since we have names from the stars, which are often Greek anyway, it's kind of complimentary."

"And here I am with my common flower name."

"But it's pretty."

She smiled, and, if he wasn't very much mistaken, a little blush dusted across her cheeks.  
"Well, anyway, my middle name is the name of a Greek Titan, too, so it only made sense."

"Hyperion… right?"

Scorpius raised his eyebrows.

"Oh— Al told me, and it just kind of stuck in my memory. You know, for being… out there."

"Weird. Weird is the word you're looking for."

Rose, fairly unsuccessfully hid her laughter behind a hand.

"So Theia was the Titaness of some weird stuff like the light of the blue sky…? Something strange like that — oh, and of sight, too. And, of course, Hyperion was the Titan of the Sun. My dad used to have a dog called Cronos, too."

"Didn't he eat his children, or something?"

"Yes. I really don't think _our_ Cronos did that, though. But anyway, my mum picked out the name Theia."

"Oh?"

Scorpius nodded, and could already feel a little lump in his throat. "Yeah. She picked her out, three years to the day before she died."

"Oh. I'm sorry."

"Why? You didn't kill her, did you?" He gave a laugh that was more like a sigh, "I never understand when people say sorry for things they didn't cause or do."

Rose's eyebrows pulled together in that vaguely exasperated look she'd been giving him more and more recently. "It's not that people say sorry for an action. It's that they say they're sorry that you have to go through what you did. It's not an 'I'm sorry I've done wrong', it's an "I'm sorry because I like you and I don't think you should go through this pain'."

Scorpius was left silent in the wake of her explanation. It was funny how one person could shake up the way that you view so much of your world.

"And I'm saying 'I'm sorry' in the latter way, right now. I've got to leave. Beauty sleep, and all that."

"You could sleep for two minutes and still be the most beautiful girl in the room."

They both fell into silence. That was, without a doubt, the single smoothest thing Scorpius Malfoy had ever said, and would ever say.

Rose gave him a kiss, deep and passionate, before standing. "I've got to go, regardless of what you say."

"I'll see you tomorrow night then."

Rose smiled widely. "Yes. Tomorrow night."

And she was gone, through the door, before Scorpius' heart returned to anywhere near a normal pace. Merlin, all this anticipation was going to kill him.

* * *

 _This anticipation is going to kill me, too! Also, writing romance is kinda hard when you've just been dumped and lost faith in romance in real life for a bit. Oh well~~_

 _So, essentially, this is how it's going to work next week: one chapter every day (probably at varying times lol whoops) from next Friday until the 25th. It'll be an extravaganza, but hopefully, it'll be a great end!_

 _Please review if you've got time (trust me, I'll need it for the next week of writing!) and follow for more. Thanks!_


	23. Joshua

**_Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter._**

 _Thank you so much to my reviewers **catwomannnnn1** (thank you! Everything is fine I'm just a drama queen sometimes haha), **Guest** (again, thank you! We didn't even go out for long so oh well thank u, next!), **reppad98** (thanks! I just have an insane fear of being late so I just cannot do it haha. I totally get what you mean about the OCs, but I hope that the next few chapters will help you to straighten things out! And I mean, we say film/movie interchangeably depending on where you're from in the UK - some people even say mom not mum here! It's no big deal really, but thanks for giving me the chance to explain it all!), **Guest** (thank you, that's very sweet!), **AMBERJANUS** (thank you for always reviewing! I really appreciate it), **MLMarint** , and **chapou69**. You guys are the best, I love you all 3_

 _Wow, so this week has been... intense. Wrote 5 chapters, started a new job, moved back home from uni for the holidays... I'm just going to go sleep for a week brb. So anyway, this week is the final week! Eeee I'm so excited! But yeah, I have nothing to say right now. Words have officially lost meaning to me._

 _Oh, and the boys are all from different parts of the UK so all have different idiolects. I'll provide a lil dictionary for the weirder words at the end of the chapter - but it's not even heavy. Just an excuse for me to pull out my Midlands slang next chapter eyyyyyyyy_

 _Enjoy!_

* * *

 _Chapter 23: Joshua_

Alfie was one of those people who always seemed to lie completely still when he slept. He'd go to sleep on his back, sheets tucked into the underside of his mattress, and then he'd wake in the morning in the exact same position, barely a wrinkle in sight. I can't do that. I'm always moving in my sleep; writhing like an eel. As I moved my legs against the cold, cotton sheets and stretched, and pulled up the starchy, heavy blanket on top of the quilt off me, the bed was a complete mess. Not as bad as Max, mind you now, but that's Max. Total slithery serpent if I've ever seen one.

But I can't get the feel of the scratchy blanket off my hands all day; it lingers there through breakfast, a vain attempt at studying, lunch, a vain attempt at polite conversation, and even now, as we traipse up the stairs to get ready.

"What'chu gorming about, Josh?" Max drawls in that familiar, cocky way. What an arse. What a best friend.

"Just gorming." I replied, and carried on up the third, fourth, fifth flight of stairs. "You'd have thought we'd be able to walk up the stairs without feeling winded by now, wouldn't you?"

Bloody hell. it was a good job Amelie wasn't there to see me gasping like a choir toad, all gross and short of breath. I wasn't even that unfit!

Max wandered off with only a snort into our room, and I was unfortunate enough to linger long enough for Patrick to come out of his room. He looked an utter twat in dress robes of bright green, but I tried oh-so-hard not to move my face at all. If there was one thing I took in from Alfie, it was to never show your disgust on your face. Mind you, he'd got a lot worse at not doing that lately.

I caught my finger on the wooden knot on the door, on the lumpy bit in the middle that jutted upwards with rough edges, and yanked my finger quickly away before shutting it behind me. I was sensitive enough anyway, I didn't need bloody _splinters_ all the time.

Albus was fighting his way into his trousers as I walked over to the closet, and Scorpius looking agonised over his tie. Why? Was it too long, too short? I looked at mine. It looked fine, a deep sapphire blue with very slight diamond patterns that only showed in the candlelight, hanging there on the crisp, white shirt. It _did_ look fine, didn't it?

"What is it, Scorpius?"

"Rose said she wanted to coordinate outfits... I have no idea what kind of green she wants my tie to be."

He always had this look he pulled when he wanted help - which wasn't always received as well as his deer-caught-in-headlights look might let on - and low and behold, his wide grey eyes were now even wider.

"Did she say what kind of green? Amelie's always _very_ specific about colours." I said, nodding to my tie. I'd got it on her exact colour orders, and I expected that she'd be very pleased with me. She deserved only the best - and expected it.

The look faded, and he shrugged. "She said dark emerald green."

"So make it dark emerald green...?" I couldn't with him sometimes. For someone so clever, he could be the biggest idiot in this room. Typical, these pure-blood wizards quite often had no clue about what went on in the rest of the world. Even Max could be that way, sometimes.

Taking my suit very carefully over to my bed, I lay it out and started to change. I was so excited. Amelie has been teasing me with what she was going to wear - and _not_ wear - for a few weeks now. She was gorgeous, intelligent, and probably out of my league. But that's never stopped me before. It just felt different with her.

The fabric of the shirt was cold on my skin. It was slightly rough and unyielding, from being ironed so thoroughly the other day. These boys had never even ironed before, and looked at me like my sister used to when I did magic as I ironed out my shirt into crisp lines.

Ah, Melissa. She'd probably be back home now, after school. It felt weird, her not being here; we'd spend all evening together when we were both still in primary school. Which I would never, ever admit aloud - to everyone else, I just had really strict parents. But it really was strange, barely seeing her outside the holidays. Especially when you had families like Alfie's and Albus' populating the school. I hadn't met another witch or wizard yet who had the same kind of situation as me - then again, divorce still seemed to be taboo in the wizarding world. Sometimes it felt like living in the 1950s, and no matter how much time passed, peoples views wouldn't change. It made me so annoyed sometimes I just wanted to go and live in the Muggle world and forget any of this ever happened.

But, I'd never be able to do that. Not as long as I had friends as weird as this lot and Amelie by my side.

Slinking into my jacket, I was finally all dressed and ready. And looking fine, if I may say so myself.

"Wait— Josh—" Max hurried over and started fiddling with my tie. "There. You were all wonky."

"That's me." I grinned, and the two of us looked around, to see Alfie, changed but motionless, Albus fighting with his laces and Scorpius turned away from us, apparently having difficulty locating the opening of his sleeve-hole. Classy bunch, they are.

"'You ladies ready yet?" Max asked, voice full of that false sense of gumption he got whenever he didn't want to do anything. For someone so full of confidence, he could be a bloody coward sometimes. No wonder he wasn't in Gryffindor. Well, that and the death eater parents.

"Yeah, think so," Scorpius muttered, now giving himself a lovely double chin as he tried to sort out his tie. That boy was like a newborn foal attempting to walk sometimes.

"Here, I'll do it—" Albus sighed, fixing his tie in a few seconds. Scorpius gave him one of those wide, ingenious grins in thanks and, finally, we were all ready.

"Why am I nervous? I shouldn't be nervous." Albus said whilst taking huge, deep breaths, like he'd just run the sports' day fun run or something. Oh boy, now _that's_ a blast from the past.

"Because you're the star of a trashy teen-romance novel and tonight's the night." Max drawled, and I could tell he was nervous, too, by the declining quality of his jokes. "Shall I do the honours?" He asked, tapping the door with his wand.

"Go on then," I said, and watched as he sealed the door with a locking spell. We always did this after we all left the room, after that incident in year four... I'd never trust anyone with an unlocked door and my stuff ever again.

* * *

Usually, when we walked down into the Entrance Hall, it was nothing of note. If there was anything I ever noticed in here, it would be the smell of breakfast or lunch or tea, or it would be how ridiculously bloody late I was about to be. But this evening, it was different. Now I have no sense of interior decoration at all - I barely even notice if I make my bed or not - but even I could tell it was well done.

"Now _this_ is an entrance hall!" Scorpius exclaimed, and whilst I'd never voice it as lamely as him, he was right.

Unlike the rumours Max had heard, there were no Hippogriffs in tinsel to greet us at the door - but there were Hippogriff-shaped decorations, made of the finest wire and glowing with a dim, enchanted light. My muggle side questioned why the hell they didn't have antlers or a red nose. Then again, my muggle side had no business being in places like this.

It was as though some, giant pastry chef had created a masterpiece in gingerbread; dusting the walls and the floor with icing-sugar snow; candy-cane like red and white decorations hung from the ceiling and the warmth of candle-lit boughs of holly glistened on the walls, which looked as though they were sprayed with something silver, and glittering. Looking up just out of curiosity, I was surprised to see shimmering icicles hanging above the staircases, as though made of diamonds like from that brand my step-mum liked. It was like stepping into one of the wonderful creations of those wizards in disguise and the muggle population went mad for. Like a story-book that my dad would read me, or a fanciful tale my step-mum would tell me. Just for a moment, I felt like I was back to my eleven-year-old self, staring around in awe at this wonderful castle I couldn't believe that _I_ was going to be able to call home.

Some days, I still didn't believe this wasn't all a dream or a horrible practical joke.

"What're you waiting for?" Max asked, and I was pulled back down into reality.

"Oh," I said, and the sounds began to swirl around me again. Alfie was talking about the finer points of the decorations or something, and I could hear a troupe of younger girls coming behind us. "Nothing. Let's go."

Max grinned, and dragged me by the hand down the last few stairs. "I need to find Isabelle, and soon."

I snorted, "you horny bastard."

"Not like that, you idiot. I just…." Max couldn't finish the sentence. And when Max couldn't finish a sentence, you knew it was serious.

"Yeah, I get it. But look - the others were right. You should probably go find Mia first. Oi- don't give me that look!" I said, as Max rolled his eyes so far back I worried they might not actually come around again. "You've just got to do it. Some things in life we just have to say. Y'know. Even though we don't want to."

Max paused, before rolling his eyes again. "Yeah, tell me about it." And with those enigmatic words, he left. God, my best friend is crazy.

Albus and Scorpius and Alfie had disappeared off somewhere - God knows. Probably to look at decorations, or mingle with Albus' absurdly large family. Amidst a crowd of so many people, so many friends, I suddenly felt a little bit alone. I was never usually left to my own devices; I always had friends or somebody else to accompany me wherever I was going - whether here or back in London. So it weirded me the hell out being alone amidst so much talking and chattering and laughing like this.

"Josh?"

"Amelie!" I gasped, relieved that someone finally noticed me. And I turned, to see her, standing there as though the only woman in the room; a shining beauty who was way, _way_ out of my league. Sleek chestnut hair falling in a waterfall of waves over one shoulder; the other bare before her dress, with straps falling to her mid-biceps and the fabric fell delicately across her chest, like one of those corsets stupid muggle women wore years ago, making her tits look amazing. The long, deep sapphire silky fabric fell and fell and fell, past her impossibly tiny waist and her narrow hips all the way to the floor. She looked like a mermaid, or better yet, a siren. Beautiful. Intoxicating. More than likely, deadly.

"You look…." It wasn't often that I ran out of words, but that was one time I just had nothing to say. No words could accurately describe how beautiful she was. "You look amazing." It was weak, but I settled on it. I drew her into a kiss, and she smiled with that restrained little quirk at the edge of her lips.

"Thank you. You look good. Come on," She said, and turned away, grabbing onto my hand and leading me away. It was like the whole world crashed back in again, and the furore of chatter sounded deafening in my ears. I bashed into and brushed past what felt like hundreds of people, Amelie's tiny, cold hand in mine, before she finally pulled to a stop. She'd been leading me to her group of friends - mostly Ravenclaw girls who I barely knew (Lucy might've been a cousin of Albus' but I couldn't remember), and that boy Oliver, who was missing, tonight.

"I can't believe Oliver's missing already." Evie sighed, rolling her eyes and folding her arms, moodily. She, I remembered, was supposed to be going with Oliver. But from what Amelie said, he was always a bit of a flight risk.

Several boys who I barely recognised - except for Charlie Song, that guy from Ancient Runes - milled around at the sides of their dates, chatting along with the girls. And then there was me. I didn't consider myself a needy person, but I felt so awkward, there, hanging around half a pace behind Amelie, not knowing who to talk to or what to say. She barely even looked at me.

In short, I felt like a total nob.

I shuffled slightly, to stand more next to her than behind her, but there was still nothing I could say. If I could talk to Charlie, we could unleash our inner Londoners together and allow this conversation with bad chat, it's bear boring. Or discuss the freshest new creps back in Addidas or, more realistically, Sports Direct. And boy, did I like letting my proper London-self free sometimes. But it's not like I could just break out into proper London slang when neither of us really qualified as a roadman, and he wasn't even from round my ends, anyway. He was a Southie boy but I'm from East London. Besides, they were in the middle of talking about, what —?

"My mother really believes that tea-reading works. Honestly - she sent me a diagram of her tea leaves in yesterday's post."

"Did she? What house was your mum again?"

"Ravenclaw."

"Oh."

" _Oh_."

"She's one of _those_ Ravenclaws, then?"

Apparently, they were talking about Saffron's mum.

Alright then.

Looking around me for someone from my dorm, I'd never been so desperate to see Scorpius' obnoxiously bright hair, or Albus' weird copy-pasted face, or Alfie's vacant slate eyes. Not even Max and his obnoxiously loud voice were within hearing distance.

So, people watching it was.

I'm not even good at it. It took me years to be able to read Max. We'd been friends since the first day, when the two of us awkwardly made eye-contact with each other before anyone else, and so, therefore, were bound to be best friends until we met other people we _actually_ liked. Except we didn't. And that was that. But I didn't learn to read him until almost the end of third year and I noticed something was up. Albus and Scorpius were open books who wore their hearts on their sleeves, so it wasn't hard to figure out what was wrong with them. Alfie, however, was so closed off he'd probably end up being a serial killer or something and I'd have no idea until I was the one he killed.

Seriously, I really can't read people. Like that couple, over there: she's leaning into him, and he's looking away from her. At another girl's arse. Jesus, even _I'm_ not that bad. But is he just being distracted by an admittedly fine arse, or just uninterested. She's not exactly pretty, but she's no butterface. And now he's kissing her back — see! People are confusing, and those who can read people are either practising another level of witchcraft or just psychopaths. Like Alfie!

People are walking everywhere around me, weaving in and out of circles of friends who're talking, laughing, full of joy. There are girls in pretty long dresses and some in suits - alright then - and boys clustered around the bottom of the staircases, looking around anxiously, hoping that their date hasn't stood them up. Look - there's Harry Shaw and—

Oh, shit.

Isabelle Oscar, walking down the stairs looking like the most beautiful American (well, half-American) to have ever graced the Halls of Hogwarts, going to meet Harry Shaw.

Max might actually kill him if they kiss. Oh, oh God no— she's given him a peck. And— yep, that's right. That's Max, striding over like no one's business, with a cocky smile on his stupid bastard handsome face. Oh, he's such a stupid bastard. Mia Clarke's just behind him, staring absolute _daggers_ into his back. And is that Lola Travers trying to comfort her? Huh, weird. Max is still walking over, despite the fact that Isabelle and Harry are now holding hands and oh God—

I can't watch anymore. I turned back around, away from the hot mess that was about to explode over by the staircase, to this frosty as hell social situation.

Ugh, I really don't get people.

But as I looked at Amelie, as beautiful in profile as she was when she was in front of me, it was worth it. It was all worth it. I'd become the best damn small-talker in all of Hogwarts if that's what it took to be with her.

"Students of Hogwarts," said the voice of Henrich, suddenly bursting over the noise with amplified force, "please proceed into the Great Hall for the opening dance."

The doors of the Great Hall swung open, and Henrich's typically curt statement was over in a flash. Good. He's a wanker.

"Let's go." Amelie declared, with her usual charming smile. I took her arm, and we proceeded together into the Great Hall, the other couples of her friends just before us.

We were being directed around the square shape of what looked like a dance floor in the Hall. I filled a little with dread. Dancing in the clubs, I could do. Ball dancing, however…?

"Do you think we'll have to dance?"

"Of course. It is a ball, after all." Amelie replied, with that little quirk of her eyebrows I always thought of as cute.

We settled some rows back from the edge of the dance floor, but not far enough away to be able to see. Of course, I was still clueless as to what was happening.

"Oh, I think they will have a dance. Of Professor McGonagall, and some other pairs."

"Really?"

"Yes. It is where my mother met my father, after all. It is an important part of the Yule Ball. Well, the /Phoenix Ball/." Amelie rolled her eyes, having been critical of the name change. She'd grown up hearing stories of the Yule Ball from her parents, and of how it had been a magical night for them. I looked into her eyes and she watched the rest of the student; hazel and glistening with an otherworldly blueish gleam in the light. I hoped tonight might be a night like that, for us.

Suddenly, students started clapping around us. I joined in as soon as I picked up on the sound, and watched as McGonagall and Henrich, James Potter and Millie Longbottom, and Freya Walsh and Jake Andrews took their places on the dance floor. Oh God, it was ballroom dancing.

A medium-tempo waltz picked up, and the three couples began twirling and moving to the music. McGonagall was surprisingly nubile for her age, but of course Henrich had no sense of rhythm. It looked like McGonagall was leading him. James Potter was obviously good at dancing - he was good at everything.

"Look at Millie Longbottom. Probably only got there because her dad threatened failing him."

I glanced at Amelie out of the corner of my eyes. She was smirking to herself, but I couldn't bring myself to join her. Well, she had a tendency to make jokes that verged on rude when she was nervous, so I wouldn't read into it. I looked back at the pairs - the girls dresses twirling out like how they did in old films, the men moving in black and white clockwork. Even Jake Andrews looked like less of a Rugby-Twat, as my London friends so amazingly described it, in fancy dress robes like that. I'd heard stories about him, and his bragging, and how he couldn't get off with a girl in his year so had to target the year below. How vile. Makes you wonder why a nice girl like Freya ended up coming with an arsehole like him.

It was easy to get lost in the movements f the couples; the twirling, the spinning, the waltzing easy tempo that when the music stopped and the applause began, I was surprised by the cacophony around me.

Other couples began flooding onto the stage, and soon the square of dance floor became a rectangle, then squarer, then eventually just a mass of dancing teens.

"So," I turned to Amelie, who was watching Freya and Jake with appraising eyes, "want to dance?"

She eyed up the crowd, and then the crowd around the drinks table. "Hm. Let's get a drink, first."

* * *

 _London Dialect Dictionary: (disclaimer: don't me for my poor definitions plz thank you)_

 _roadman - someone from the streets_

 _crepes - shoes. No, seriously._

 _'round my ends' - essentially, 'from my neck of the woods'_

 _allow - it kinda means like to leave it/stop doing something_

 _bear - very_

 _So what did you guys think of Joshua? And who do you think is coming next...? Let me know!_

 _Please review if you've got time (it'll wake me from my eternal sleep) and follow for more. Thanks!_


	24. Max

**_Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter_**

 _Thank you to **MLMarint** (Awww thank you!), **Guest** , **catwomannnnn1** , and **Cornelia11270** for your reviews! I'm so amazed that you guys read and review so quickly, it just blows my mind how much love I'm getting for this story! We even passed 10,000 readers last night - it's insane! And way past my wildest dreams. Thank you, sincerely._

 _So, no one guessed the next chapter correctly, but I actually really like this guy. I think he's one of the contenders for the favourite of the group. Um, anyway, warning for swear words? Just remember that we're British so swearing is no big deal to us! *Especially if you're from the North, and as this character is from the northern part of Nottinghamshire, I, as a resident of the county, can officially call him a Northerner. Totally something I'm licenced to say. Anyway... apologies to all those who dislike swearing._

 _Enjoy!_

* * *

 _Chapter 24: Max_

Some moments in life, you're just going to remember. Some moments in life are just going to stick in your head forever and ever. Maybe they'll get distorted or embellished over the years, but how you felt, how your heart pounded or stopped or went a million miles an hour will always be there, in with your most precious or horrifying memories.

That's what Isabelle on that night will always be, to me.

"Are you for fucking real, Max? I went out on a limb for you, I — agh!" Mia screamed into her hands and I could do nothing but watch, and slowly back away.

"I'm sorry, I should've said earlier but I didn't know how." I felt all icky apologising like this. It's not my fault some girl came out of apparently nowhere and changed my entire life around.

"Words, Max. _Using words_. That's how you do it." She hissed, and her black, slightly creepy eyes narrowed into dangerous slits. I did have such a knack for pissing off the wrong women.

Well, what can you say? Must've been a family curse.

"Look, I'm sorry," I said, and in that moment, something caught my eye from over at the staircases.

Isabelle. Looking like one of those beautiful movie stars from the 1950s but even better, walking down the stairs like no one else was even in the room. I was drawn to her, look a moth to a flame. I was walking over before I even realised, all sound drowned out and just me and her the only people left existing. I still had no idea what the fuck all this even was, all these intrusive feelings that only served to _piss me off_.

"Isabelle!" I called, but it was like I'd been silenced; even if I shouted again she wouldn't look my way. Her eyes are fixed on someone at the bottom of the stairs, and I fight my way over to the front of the crowd, just in time to see her reach the bottom, and take the arm of some man and kiss him on the cheek. I'm close enough to see the deep pink or maybe red stain it leaves on his cheek.

And they walk off together. I feel like a silent film star, running after their beloved but without being able to shout them. A fruitless endeavour. And so I stand there, watching the two walk off and hear her infectious laugh and all I can do is look, like the helpless bastard I am.

"There you are! Where the hell did you go?"

It took me a minute to collect myself. I turned to face Mia, who did look admittedly beautiful - if, too much like Scorpius - and came up with some dumb excuse from my dry, dry mouth.

"Sorry. Thought I saw something."

"Well, you didn't. And you still owe me an explanation. What's the problem? I don't get it!"

I'd handled girls like this before. Girls who wanted an answer to the unanswerable question 'why don't you like me anymore?' It was hard to muster up an answer when you didn't even know yourself.

"I'm sorry. I think we're too different people, that's all."

"Of course we're two different people - that's how _humanity_ works."

"No, I mean, I think, I just think we wouldn't get along well. Sorry." The mumbled apology didn't adhere to the saying 'better out than in'. I felt just as queasy both ways.

"Ugh- I can't—"

Thankfully, Henrich cut off her tirade with something I barely paid attention to. And then we were going into the Great Hall, with Lola Travers in between us both. Lola Travers, of all people.

"Perhaps you two should sit down and talk it out."

Mia snorted, arms firmly folded across her chest. "No chance. I'm going with Lavinia. Bye, I hope you have a completely shit night, Max."

She swanned off, and left both me and Lola alone, shunned into the Hall and left to float near the back of the crowd. Not that I minded. I was in a right mardy, and I didn't need to watch that utter wassock Henrich dance like a blind Ostrich to make it feel any worse.

"So," Lola said, half with a sigh, "at least that's over now."

"Yeah. For now." I mumbled, and could feel myself being a right cynical git, but Honestly? I didn't really care.

"I suppose. But it's over for tonight, and that's the main thing."

I let out a deep breath. "'Suppose."

A slow waltz struck up and some applause rang over the first few rows of students. If I squinted, I thought I might be able to see Josh a couple rows in front of me.

"We ever really seem to talk outside of before and after class, do we?"

"Hm. I guess not. Must just be bad timing."

"And different Houses."

"Yeah, that too. Although, not as much of a big deal as I heard it was, right?"

Lola nodded. "I don't really know much about it, but yeah, I heard it used to be pretty bad. In our parent's time."

"Well, they basically lived a millennia ago, anyway."

Lola laughed. "Basically."

"So how did you end up asking Mia in the first place, anyway?"

Now _that_ was something I'd never admit. A terribly heady combination of pride and insecurity and over-confidence and the feeling of just 'fuck it, let's do it'. And a little bit of firewhiskey.

"Yeah. It was a few months back. I thought it'd be a great idea at the time but…"

"No, I know what you mean. A few of my friends did that and it's ended a little less explosively than that, but still not particularly well." It made me feel perversely happy to know that at least other people were suffering the same misery as me, too. "But, we're teenagers. Doing stupid things is like our main job until we finally become adults.

"And when's that? Asking for a friend?" I grinned, and looked at her askance.

"I'll let you know if I ever find out."

I laughed. Actually, I liked hanging out with Lola. Truth is, Slytherins are factious as fuck if you look at it closely. Hanging out with Lola? Immediately narrows the pool of people you have to work with. Go out with Mia, however? Widens it immensely. Scorpius and Albus have really got no idea how it works; how if you get in with the wrong crowd, you will dip to a low you'll never be able to come back from. And if you're not careful, you can kill your sociability and therefore your chance at having a somewhat enjoyable life immediately. Those two never got it - and still don't - so it's no wonder they spent the first two, three, four years in such lonely bloody agony. Pissed off the wrong people right when they got through the doors. Well, Scorpius didn't. But pollution by association and all that. Alfie could only get away with it because he's Alfie, and he's mastered the art of being a social butterfly so brilliantly I can't even be mad. It's impressive how he manages to dip into social groups here and there from as low down as post-Quidditch-golden-boys Scorpius and Albus, all the way up to Harvey Payne and Leo Black and all the school Alphas. It's an impressive gift, but bloody terrifying once you think about it. Who does he have, once he needs it?

Us, his dorm mates. That's all. And if we fight? No one.

Lola pulled me from my thoughts by shuffling slightly next to me. She did actually look quite nice, dressed in an ice blue that matched her eyes. Couldn't say I was a fan of the wispy yet solid looking material her skirt was made of.

"How did you become friends with Albus and Scorpius, again? I'm not sure anyone's ever told me."

I let out a chuckle as forced as I'd ever heard one. "Oh, right. Yeah. The ultimate question."

One better not answered. How did you succinctly explain that Rhys Owen, the living pile of shit he was, found out you were the bastard son of two Death Eaters, raised by their _non-Death Eater_ brother and sister-in-law, at once destroying your hard-earned reputation, careful web of social contacts that spanned several houses - mostly including our wonderful neighbouring boys' room - and any chance at having a half-half-way decent life for the secret son of Death Eaters that you could imagine. It was, without question, the worst day in his entire Hogwarts life. Rhys Owen is a living shit bag. But the boys next door? What they did maybe hurt worse. Josh and I never talked to Scorpius and Al - we thought they were weirdos, and they were barely ever in the dorm. Alfie never spoke. So they were the ones we hung out with. I thought Patrick was my best friend. But as soon as they heard about my 'parents', they wouldn't even look at me, or at Josh, who was the only loyal one amongst the bastards. So we clung to each other, and became BFFs or whatever they say, and finally began talking to Scorpius and Al and Alfie, and we even became friends, uniting the five of us by the end of fourth year. And cementing us against the other boys, when we came back to our room one day to find Josh's stuff hurled all across the room, with a dung bomb let off in his chest, all because he called them out on their nobbish behaviour.

But I suppose it wasn't all bad. I'd rather Josh alone than any of those fake twats. And Al, and Scorpius and Alfie. They're genuine people, not social climbers. Not like I'm one, either. But we helped those three get to 'normal-person' status in the perception of the rest of the school by fifth year through our serial dating and therefore networking, and now by halfway through sixth year, we're actually not half bad. Maybe even pushing on a popular group.

But that wasn't a story that needed telling. Not now.

"It's a long story, but let's say that Josh and I are their better half. When it comes to the ladies, at least."

Lola snorted. "Sure. I'll keep that in mind."

I actually couldn't help but smile.

Oh fuck. Fuck it all. Fuck all the Patricks and Mos and Aneils and Ethans and other twats like that. Fuck all the people who wanted to judge me for hanging out with people like Lola. Fuck 'em. She was nice, and I was going to hang out with her.

The waltz finally came to a halt, and couples oozed not the dance floor as a slightly more upbeat tune struck up.

Scanning the crowd for faces I knew, I realised I was right - that was Josh. And Amelie, standing next to him. Merlin, he was all lost in her eyes and looking soppy. And her— oh! That bitch! She was checking out the boys at the drinks table. Checking out Jake Andrews!? For fuck's sake — I should've said it earlier, I should've told him that she was bad news. Not that he'd listen really, but at least he'd be warier. Right now, he looks like a puppy staring up at its favourite human; he'd be wagging his tail furiously if he had one. It'd be pathetic if it weren't so tragic.

"What's up?"

"Oh," I was mercifully drawn away from watching the doomed couple by Lola, "nothing really. Sorry." I hadn't even asked her where her date was yet.

"You just seemed a little down."

I shrugged. Not like I could lie about it when it was true. "You're awfully perceptive. Y'know, you and Alfie would be good together. I'm not even sure he likes Sabrina that much."

Lola gave a snort that she tried to cover up with a cough, but I caught it nonetheless. And it was awfully suspicious. I narrowed my eyes and wondered what the hell she was thinking, but decided it wouldn't be worth pursuing. Not right now, anyway.

"Where's your date anyway?" I asked, as soon as she'd stopped laughing or coughing or choking or whatever the hell it was.

"He's over there." She gestured over to Alexander Wilkinson, who was dancing with some brunette that very much was _not_ Lola.

"Oh. I'm sorry."

She shrugged. "Why? Not like it's your fault. Anyway," she sighed, "I didn't like him that much. He was just the only one to ask me. Last week."

I shuffled slightly, feeling immensely awkward. What did I do now? I can't say I would've asked her, that would've been a lie. Can't say I would've gone with her as a friend, because I only wanted to go with Isabelle, in the end.

"Let's hang out then. As two date-less friends."

She smiled. "Alright. Want to get a drink?"

"Hopefully it's spiked."

She laughed, and I grinned. The night was already looking up.

"Want to join Isabelle and Harry? Paige might be there, too…"

I baulked. So maybe the night _wasn't_ already looking up. She must've seen it on my face or something because she said, "really? This was all over Isabelle Oscar, huh?" She raised her brows. "I'm not surprised. The girl's amazing. Still, I get it."

"You do?"

"Yeah. It sucks to really like someone who never gives you any attention back."

I paused there, halfway across the Hall, a little longer. She watched me, searching for any clues as to what I might be thinking. I was half-thinking that she might be on about Alfie after all, and half-thinking that maybe, this was just the teenager's lot. I knew I could only really say one of those two things.

"Yeah," I forced on my best, cockiest, handsomest grin, "teenager's lot, huh?"

Lola didn't say much of anything until they made it over to the drinks table. Where Daniel-Fucking-Wood was standing, lauding it about like the utter wanker he was. It's a strange kind of phenomenon, watching someone younger than you be such a cocky, entitled, dickish little pillock. It's somehow way, way funnier and a lot less tolerable when the little shit's a full year below you.

Lola was about to say something, several words into a clearly delectable morsel of information when Daniel-Arsehole-Wood's stupid words floated over to me.

"I bet he drugged her, or, or cursed her or /something/. What kind of Death Eater little shit gets a girl like her to go out with him? My father told me that the sons of Death Eaters just have it in their blood to be bad—

"Oh you stupid _CUNT_." I whirled around, adrenaline fueling me before I knew. I completely lost my rag with the dick. Daniel Wood had been on thin ice for the last three months, and now it had fucking well melted.

There was a stunned silence at my colourful language, and the crowd inevitably turned to face me.

"Just leave Scorpius alone already, he's done nothing to you except show you up as an arsehole and actually be nice enough to get the girl you wanted. And just because the only way you could ever get a girl is through drugging them, doesn't mean its true for the rest of us."

"Oh go on then, where's your date, funny little boy?"

"'Little boy'? ' _Little Boy_ '?! What are you, twelve?" I scoffed, rolling my eyes at the idiot. He looked like a six-year-old who'd unrepentantly got into trouble "You talk about your father like he's got all the wisdom in the world, but maybe your daddy shouldn't have raised such an entitled little shit. Not even your friends really like you, you're just easy to mindlessly be around."

"Oi, fuck off death-eater spawn." One of the minions around Daniel finally pipped up.

"Who the fuck even are you? I don't even know your name literally who are you?"

And he crawled away, tail between his legs.

"Leave my friends out of it, Flint."

"Then maybe you should leave my friend's names out of your mouth, too. You're not even worthy of speculating about them."

"I'm more than worthy of Death-Eater shits."

"No, you're not. You're not worthy of anyone whilst you're being such an utter wanker. Yeah, that's right, just crawl on back to your pathetic little home - off you go! No one wants you here!" I waved him off as he went, tail between his legs and lack of repentance in his heart, "oh, and stay the hell away from my friends!" I called after him, and stood there silent, panting, and waiting for the adrenaline to fade away.

Oh, I should do that more often. Really gets the heart going.

"Well, that was something," Lola said, suddenly appearing from beside me as the rest of the world faded back into focus.

"Oh. Shit. Forgot we're at the Ball." I ran a hand through my hair, suddenly feeling actually quite awkward for the first time in a while.

Something caught my eye, just past her shoulder. Some blonde guy, dashing out the hall. Weird. And then— that's Alfie, chasing after him. Even weirder.

But then I felt a clap on my shoulder, bringing me squarely back into reality. The music had changed into something more upbeat with decidedly less classical instruments.

"Nice one, mate."

"Hopefully he's finally put in his place."

"Good riddance, he was pestering my date."

"He's such a creep. I'm glad you really took him to task."

None of them really mattered, though. Not except for one.

"That was quite the show, there." No one else had a twang in their accent like her. "I didn't know if you were going to let him leave here alive or not."

Grinning a bit, I turned to see her there. Isabelle. "Isabelle!"

"Yep, that's me. Drink?" She offered one of the two glasses she was holding to me, still a slight smile on her lips.

"Sure. Thanks."

"You know, it was pretty brave what you did. Which is a lot, coming from a Gryffindor."

"Then I appreciate it even more."

"And especially coming from me." She looked down, tracing some invisible pattern on the floor with her deep brown eyes. "I thought it was pretty awesome, how you stood up for your friend like that."

"Thanks. But Scorpius deserves it, anyway. And Daniel Wood is just begging to be taken down a peg or two."

She raised her brows in agreement as she took a sip.

"So," I sighed, sweaty and nervous and completely forgetting how to human. "Uh— where's Harry?"

I hated asking, but the thought of her being ditched was almost as painful as the thought of her with Harry in the first place.

"Oh, him? He's off… somewhere. Honestly, he was just my safe choice so I don't really care."

"Really?"

She nodded. "Sure. There weren't any boys I really liked…. well, until recently, anyway."

And suddenly the sweatiness increased by a thousand-fold. "O-Oh?" Usually, I could flirt like a total pro. But now, the tables were completely turned.

"Of course. Who'd ya think it is?" She tilted her head a little to the left and smiled and her wonderful eyes sparkled.

Oh, Merlin.

Taking me by the hand we left our drinks on the table and she pulled me over to the dance floor.

Fuck Joshua's weird girlfriend. Fuck Scorpius' protection squad, and Alfie's strange behaviour. I knew that night was going to be the best night of my life. And it bloody well was.

* * *

 _Midlands Slang Dictionary:_

 _Mardy - essentially having your knickers in a twist_

 _Wassock - basically a wanker_

 _There may be other slang I've used that I'm unaware is slang because apparently I was born sprouting it, lul._

 _So what did you guys think of Max? I think he's very much a person-in-progress type character. Not that I have written him well (I hope...?) But that he's kind of intensely maturing right now. Well, who isn't at age 16?_

 _Who do you guys think is next? Let me know in your review!_

 _Please review if you've got time, and follow for more. Thanks!_


	25. Alfie

**_Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter_**

 _Thank you **catwomannnnn1** , **MLMarint** , **chapou696** and **Guest** for your reviews! Ugh, you guys make my week!_

So, some of you guessed this chapter right - congrats! But I think I haven't got anything to say here so...

 _Enjoy!_

* * *

 _Chapter 25: Alfie_

Lies are, generally, a bad thing. Big lies can destroy a life. Massive lies can bring down a world. Little lies are maybe okay, though. Max lies to himself all the time, and he's not doing too badly for sixteen-year-old cooped up in a castle all the time. But what about my lies? The constant white lies and lies by omission and lies that shape how my friends see me? Is all of that... bigger than a little lie? Have I handled it all so badly that now, it's a big lie that can destroy my life?

I hope not. I fear yes.

"Oh wait, where's Joshua? And Max?" Albus inquired suddenly, standing on his tiptoes and craning his next around the crowd to hopefully get a peep at them.

Being taller anyway, I looked around easily but couldn't see them. There must've been five hundred people, perhaps six, in the hall, all clustered together making it impossible to find someone once you'd lost them.

"We'll find them later, let's just go look for Rose and Lydia. And Sabrina."

I knew where Sabrina was - under the portrait of Aedelbert the Spotty - but I decided to just follow them instead of saying anything.

I'd been in a weird mood for several weeks now. And it's funny how the swirling of over-information or over-emotion in your brain can completely cloud you from acting as you usually do. It drains you of all capability to fit in like anyone else. Max had been a little bit like this recently, but we all knew why. He was actually attracted to a girl on more than looks alone - which wasn't a first, but him realising it? That was.

"Hey Alfie, can you see anyone yet?" Scorpius asked as he, too, went into his tiptoes to try and look around the Hall and catch a glimpse of anyone. Theoretically, it shouldn't be hard to find Rose. Her hair made her stick out in any situation, after all, clearly marking her out as the daughter of the Minister for Magic in texture alone.

"They're over there - just a bit over this way," I said, pointing just a little to our right and not too far in front. "I can see Rose."

"Yeah, well, that's not hard."

"Hey!"

"I'm just saying!" Albus sighed, rubbing his arm from where Scorpius whacked him.

"Scorpius!"

Rose was the first to see them, and she hurried over to her now... boyfriend, I think? And gave him a peck on the cheek. I felt terrible for not knowing. I should really have been paying more attention to these things than closeted in my own head, recently.

"Come on, everyone's over here. Well, for the most part. Isabelle's still upstairs, Lola went looking for someone, Paige is off somewhere with Rhys—"

"As in Rhys Owens? Really?"

Rose nodded back at Albus, giving him the same look that meant she, too, had no idea how or why that happened. "But otherwise, everyone else is here!"

By 'everyone else', it transpired that she meant 'everyone else in her family in Hogwarts', with a few others joining them.

Lydia and Albus seemed to gravitate towards each other within seconds of seeing each other - those two were lucky. They were the definition of a couple meant to be. If I'm completely honest, I was pretty envious of them. It must've been nice to have that constant, reassuring companionship.

Almost all of the other cousins and siblings were assembled - even Roxanne, who it turned out had managed to come by securing a fourth year as a date. Where that fourth year was, I had no idea, but I still couldn't help but admire her gumption.

There was something about being around such large families in Hogwarts that made me feel slightly uncomfortable. Especially recently. It wasn't the people - it was never the people - but just the concept itself. It was because of my own family. How uncomfortable I felt with them, when we all gathered back at our house during Christmas or birthdays. How utterly out of place I was. And it wasn't that my parents were ever outright abusive or neglectful - indeed, they were quite the opposite. But I do wish that just once, they had written to me whilst I was here, at Hogwarts.

The cousins were discussing a time when Rose and Albus had teamed up to fool his father, when I saw my chance to leave. Not that I wanted to leave them, but I felt I had to. I was lying to them with every action I took, after all. At least, recently I had felt that way more than ever, and the guilt was gnawing away at me from the inside out.

I knew that Sabrina wouldn't be far off. She was an angel; one of the kindest people I knew. And I would never know why she did all this for me, or how I could ever repay her.

Sure enough, there she was: standing right under the portrait we'd agreed, looking wonderful in a deep crimson, floor length dress, and her sweet face looking even prettier than usual in skilfully applied makeup.

"Good evening, Sabrina. You look lovely."

"You too, Alfie."

We embraced in a brief hug, before settling into our quiet, familiar routine of speaking in riddles.

"How is everything?"

I nodded, in the vague kind of way that means 'terrible, or at least very complicated, but I shan't go into it now'. Sabrina knew exactly what I meant.

"Ah. So, still confused about what to do?"

"Wouldn't you be?"

"I am." She pointed out, with eyebrows raised.

I averted my eyes; ashamed that, so caught up in my own issues, I had neglected to consider her. I had been doing that more and more recently, and I _despised_ it. It wasn't me. It wasn't my personality, or a characteristic of mine to forget everyone else. I took pride in caring for everyone around me, trying my hardest to be kind to all. I could even be conversationally cordial to Rhys Owens, which was really something, given his past actions towards my closest friends. But recently, it was like my very spirit had been fractured into a hundred pieces, and whilst I knew I had the capability to embrace them all, I just... couldn't.

"You're even quieter than usual, Alfie. I worry about you." She said, simply, and I looked down at her again, meeting her kind, green eyes.

"I know. But I worry about you, too. It's a mutually concerned relationship." I pointed out, and couldn't help but smile.

It made Sabrina laugh, too. Which was always a positive. She was easy to make laugh, even easier to bring a smile to her face, usually. She was, it would be fair to say, my crutch throughout the years of Hogwarts. As soon as we discovered each other's secrets - which is a story _far_ / too long to go into, but needless to say involves two ghosts, a photograph, and a hastily written note - we realised that we might as well continue trying to fool the world together.

"We have done a wonderful job, haven't we?"

"And may we continue to do so for a long time to come." I added, with a hidden meaning behind my words.

"So, that is your decision?"

I nodded, wordlessly.

"Are you certain?"

"I have thought long and hard. But it would cause too many problems, shift too many relationships. People would speculate, hold my life under a magnifying glass - any action I took would not be safe from scrutiny."

She looked down at the ground and nodded. "Okay. I'm behind you, as always." She said, and I could almost feel the warmth from her words envelope my body in the cold winter chill.

"Thank you, 'Brina," I said, as the students around us began to move like a herd of sheep. "You know I am always ready to act however you want or need."

She nodded. "Of course."

Professor Henrich stride over to us, dragon skin coat flapping in the breeze he created, as we remained unmoved, almost the last students in the hall.

"Come on, time to go into the Hall."

"Yes, Sir," I said and offered my arm out to Sabrina as we, too, traipsed into the packed Great Hall with all the other students.

"Let's stay near the back. I prefer it back there, anyway." Sabrina muttered into my ear, and I obliged happily. I couldn't even see where Max or Joshua or Scorpius or Albus where anymore, and there was no one else in the vicinity that we knew too well, either. Only friendly faces I passed with a wave as I walked the corridors of Hogwarts, and there were, admittedly, a lot of them.

Sabrina and I hung at the back, near a table presumably left out for the tired dancers later in the night, happy to be anonymous and ignored as the slow, gentle waltz struck up some way before us.

"I wonder who she's with tonight." Sabrina opined, searching the crowd for someone who Alfie would never say.

"I never heard who she went with." It was a lie, a little white lie, but she didn't need to know what he'd heard. Not tonight.

"Sure," She said, with a smile. And then her face shifted into a frown, or perhaps closer to confusion, as she stuck her head out beyond Alfie, "oh—"

"Alfie," came a voice from his left; quite suddenly, but a voice he knew well.

Oliver.

"Shall I leave the two of you to it...?" Sabrina offered, green eyes flicking between the two.

I nodded, "thank you."

She disappeared into the crowd, weaving her way through to search for someone she knew, still a smile on her face.

My stomach clenched. Another person I was letting down for my own selfish gains.

"It's alright, Alfie. She knew what she was signing up to."

"I know, but she deserves to have all the friends in the world around her, not to be left alone."

Oliver smiled with a roll of his eyes. "She's not alone. She has lots of friends, and she will be _fine_ /. Put yourself first for once."

I let out a half-snort, half-sigh. I wasn't sure when the last time I'd done that was. At least, I wasn't sure when the last time I'd enjoyed doing it was.

"You look handsome tonight." He said, and I couldn't help the blush that spread across my cheeks. "Oh— you're so cute!" He said, and laughed.

"Thanks. You look—" I looked him up and down. He did look very nice, actually, "you look splendid, too."

"'Splendid'? Sometimes I wonder where you get these words from," he laughed, and I couldn't help the smile that blossomed from his infectious laughter. "I don't think I've ever been called splendid before, actually. Must be a first. I'll take it, thank you."

And he took my hand gently in his, squeezing it affectionately. I slipped my hand out of his as soon as was feasible, eyes scanning the crowd as my heart beat a million miles an hour.

The crowd was all applauding, eyes firmly ahead of them. No one saw. I let out a deep breath.

I knew Oliver would be frowning next to me, but I didn't care. I was just glad no one saw.

"Hey, why don't we go and dance?" He nodded over to the crowd gathered before us, with his head of light blonde hair. There were couples stranded everywhere, dancing like the pretty figurines in Muggle musical boxes. My mother had one of those in her room, enchanted to dance for ever and ever but never omit a sound.

"No, I'm sorry."

"Wait— so we're going to just sit at the back here, all evening? Doing nothing?"

"Well, I mean... we might do something else."

"Like dance?"

"No."

"But why?"

"Because I— I already told you. I don't want to. I told you this is what it would be like, and you agreed."

"But I doesn't have to be!"

"Yes, it does! This is how it is and always will be for me!"

I was standing before I knew it; panting and out of breath before I knew it. He was standing too, and taking several paces back.

Silence hung between us, thick and heavy. I heard Max shouting some choice swear words behind me but I was too focused on this dark, heavy, unbearable silence to listen to even him.

"Alfie, I— you are... you're unbelievable." He left, turning tail and fleeing the Great Hall. Looking around for any eyes on me, I decided it was safe, and fled, too.

"Oliver, Oliver! Wait!" I could hear his footsteps not too far beyond me, heading down the Transfiguration corridor of all places.

I caught sight of his blonde hair, shining with the light of the full moon outside, and he veered sharply left, pushing a tapestry out of the way.

"What— Oliver!" I jogged to catch up with him, pushing the tapestry aside to see...

A secret corridor?

"Oliver! I'm sorry, I'm just..."

"I know. You've said it a thousand times. But you're not the only one to have ever gone through this!"

I looked down at the ground; dimly lit in the light of the one and only torch that lit this narrow corridor, but I could still see broken and uneven tiles below me.

"Alfie, you're gay." The words were blunt, and true, but uncomfortable enough to make both of them pause and draw in a sharp breath. "You are gay. It's just a fact."

I knew that. I'd known it already for years. But that didn't make it any easier.

"And you should be proud of it."

I looked up to meet his eyes. They shone more amber than usual in this dim torchlight.

"I'm just not ready to tell the world yet."

"Why?"

He came to stand in front of me, oh so close in the narrow space of this corridor. The uneven, jagged plaster felt uncomfortable against my back.

"Because... I..." There was no way I could eloquently say what I hadn't even made up in my own mind yet. "I'm just... not ready. To tell my friends. And my brothers..."

And they weren't the half of it. I knew I could tell Scorpius and Albus, easy. I'd even considered telling Scorpius once, and in a trance-like daydream I'd heard the words come out of my own mouth. But then I'd awoken, and never been able to do it.

I don't know why. Of all my friends, bar Sabrina, they would understand. That, I knew. Albus would continue on life as normal, and I doubted Scorpius would even understand why I felt the need to tell him as though I were confessing my darkest secret. But that was the issue: it was my darkest, deepest secret, and they needed to understand that.

Joshua, I was sure would be fine. Probably. Perhaps he'd crack a few crude jokes, change behind his curtains, but he was my friend, after all. But Max... how did one tell the object of one's affections for years who you really are? How can you say it, without making it apparent that all the things I'd done over the years were more than just signs of friendly affection.

No, Max could wait. That wasn't a bridge I wanted to risk burning.

And my family... that was a nightmare I wasn't really to live yet. I was the one who kept all their secrets, and yet no one had ever asked me of mine. I wasn't sure they'd care if I told them - only if I acted in what they termed, a 'homosexual lifestyle'. I was already the most 'feminine' of my five, macho brothers. The little skinny one, into the arts and old books and fashion and interior design... the cliche wrote itself, and I wasn't ready to live their jokes, not yet.

And my parents... through their inaction, they would be the worst of all. I could tell them, and they would never care. Ignore it, skirt around it, and make it a bigger taboo than I already felt it was. And then force me to marry a nice pureblood girl, despite my protestations. No, with my parents, I had two options: live my entire life as a lie under their eye, or cut myself off from them and be free.

And that was only my close friends and family. These are decisions I cannot make with the flip of a knut; I need more time to decide if I will live a comfortable lie, or try for perilous freedom.

"I just need more time."

Oliver sighed, and came even closer to me. I could feel his body resting over mine; every muscles and curvature of his bones pressing into mine. "Fine. It's fine."

He was no Max. He didn't have that same charisma oozing from his amber eyes. And he had blonde hair, not brown, and his face wasn't sharp and masculine but soft and pixie-ish. And he was no Harvey Payne, with looks straight out of a catalogue or ancient statue of the gods. But he would do.

I leant in, and kissed him.

It was good. Better than when I'd kissed a girl. Much, much better; my stomach clinched and twirled, and I sighed into his mouth, with happiness and release and finally, the feeling of things being _right_.

And I kissed him again, and again. He wasn't exactly right, but he was still the only man I wanted in that second.

He pulled away, eyes filled with a little more passion, now.

He smirked, and I followed the movement of his lips with careful eyes.

"So. Want to be my secret boyfriend, now?"

I simply nodded. With a smile. It wasn't like Lydia and Albus, this wasn't endgame. But it was a start, and it would do. It would do very well, I thought, as I kissed him again.

He's not Max and Max will never be like Oliver. He's not like Harvey Payne, although there are certain rumours about him. He's just Oliver. He's the only gay student I know who isn't miles out of my league. He's kind, and fun to talk to. He'll do.

So I kissed him again, and again, whilling away the night in his lips. And finally, it felt right.

* * *

 _Okay, so, disclaimer: I'm not gay. Coming out is an experience I have not lived, so if you are gay and have come out and this doesn't feel faithful to your experiences, please let me know! I don't want to be a writer who purports to be a friend to the LGBTQ+ community but then also writes harmful cliches. Y'know, just let me know if there's something that you'd like me to add/take out, please!_

 _On another note, I had a review left that says I write with too much dialogue. I'm perfectly secure in how I write - dialogue heavy is my style - but nonetheless, I'd like your opinions, please. Yay or nay on the dialogue?_

 _Anyway! Serious stuff aside, what did you guys think of Alfie? There's only two left, so who do you think's next - Albus or Scorpius?_

 _Please review if you've got time, and follow for more. Thanks!_


	26. Albus

_**Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter**_

 _Sorry I'm kinda in a rush right now but thank you all for your reviews (I'm glad the foreshadowing paid off!) and_

 _Enjoy!_

* * *

 _Chapter 26: Albus_

It all went south and everyone was sent to bed when the gin got into the punch bowls.

The world was lost to me as Lydia smiled at me, and was only brought crashing back around me when I heard Max, shouting apparently at the top of his lungs.

"Oh you stupid _CUNT_!"

Ooh. That's some choice swearing there. Then again, he always was the 'loud' one of us all.

Lydia and I were approaching the other end of the drinks table, frozen in time as we heard Max shouting from nearby. I hadn't seen him so wound up in a long time. It would've been unnerving if I hadn't stopped to listen to what else he said.

"Just leave Scorpius alone already, he's done nothing to you except show you up as an arsehole and actually be nice enough to get the girl you wanted. And just because the only way you could ever get a girl is through drugging them, doesn't mean its true for the rest of us."

"Do you think we should help out?" Lydia asked, alarm written all over her face.

I shook my heard, eyes still set on the conflict.

"Oh go on then, where's your date, funny little boy?"

"'Little boy'? ' _Little boy_ '?! What are you, twelve?"

Oh yes, Max was absolutely pissed off. And when he got like this, he would win the fight he was having no matter what.

I shook my head, unable to stop the small grin that spread over my face. "No. Max' got it covered."

Amelie's face relaxed into a smile, too, and arm in arm, we walked back to the dance floor.

"I do wonder if we ought to have said something about Amelie and Jake Andrews, though." Lydia sighed, looking to me for guidance. She did hat a lot, and so far I'd improvised successfully. But I don't know why she looked to /me/ for guidance - I couldn't offer much help. I was just me. Albus Potter.

"No, I think that Max should be the one to tell Joshua. Or at least Alfie."

Amelie had been getting off with Jake Andrews behind the fountain. We'd only seen her out of the corner of our eyes, but it was enough to know what happened. Enough to know that this night would undoubtedly turn into one of the worst nights of Joshua's life.

"Still, it's sad."

I nodded but would say no more on the topic. It wasn't my place to.

"Oh, it's a slow dance. Shall we?" I asked, holding out my arms for Lydia to nearly step into.

"I'd love to." She smiled sweetly, in the way that made her eyes curve into little crescent moons. It was so adorable, and just one of the things about her I really liked.

She stepped closer to me and I put one hand on her waist, the other clasping hers, and we began to dance slowly. Swaying and moving slowly on the dance floor as though one entity, so close to each other I could feel her heart beating.

"You look so handsome tonight." She has that smile that I couldn't help but find slightly sexy, and that passion in her eyes that made the amber-brown pupils darken and intensify.

I flushed under her gaze, feeling a childish smile I'd always done when I got this fluttering feeling of nervousness in the pit of my stomach spread across my face.

I couldn't even manufacture a reply for a while. I never had been the eloquent one, that was always Alfie, but something about Lydia made it difficult for me to speak sometimes. The way she smiled when she could justifiably be sad, the way she pouted in her anger and the way she never took the world for granted, but always found joy and gratitude in the little things - even when they didn't go the right way for her. She made me a better person; better than I ever would be without her. Being with her was the most natural thing I'd ever done. It was like I was a traveller lost in the desert, coming upon the oasis I'd been searching for; that I'd found the thing I'd been looking for my whole life, without even realising it. She was my other half - quite often my better half - and I would be lost without her.

"Thanks," I said in barely a whisper. "You know I think you look like an angel."

She smiled, halfway into a laugh, "I know. Thank you."

So, this was what love felt like, huh?

* * *

The concert band had retired long ago, to be replaced by a collection of more modern instruments. Well, 'modern' in the magical world's sense of the term.

Lydia and I sat at the back of the hall, resting from all the dancing we'd done for, what? Two hours, perhaps?

"We should really be less tired than this." She opined next to me, as though reading my mind.

"Tell me about it." I sighed, letting out a deep breath that was perhaps halfway to a yawn.

"Hey—" She said suddenly, sitting upright in her chair and craning her head forwards. "Isn't that...?"

"It is! Merlin's beard. I never thought he'd actually pull it off!"

There were Isabelle and Max, dancing no different from any a _ctual_ /couple on the dance floor.

"Oh! I don't..." Lydia turned to look at me and, wordlessly, we agreed upon the same thing: this was weird, but also kind of sweet.

"I'm happy for them. It's sweet. And, they do look good together."

I nodded, agreeing exactly with everything she said. "She's better for him than Mia was.

"Most definitely."

We'd seen Mia, not too long ago. She was sitting with Lola Travers, the two of them dateless and neither willing to dance with the other. So they occupied a slightly frosty silence, that seemed to be getting less and less frosty by the second.

"I still don't like her at all, but at least she's not alone."

Lydia nodded. "True. But as long as she becomes a better person I think it's okay to forgive her for the past."

"Scorpius'll have to do it first. He's the one she hurt."

"Of course."

And we sat in amiable silence, my hand in hers, just the two of us sitting here happily as though for a moment, the entire world had been put on pause around us.

That was, until Alfie and that boy... Oliver? scampered past us.

"Alfie? What're you doing here?" I called out to him, and Alfie pauses, rigid as a board, only turning around very slowly and very cautiously.

"Albus! Why aren't you two dancing?"

Now I was never the one who was particularly good at reading people, but I knew that Alfie was acting suspiciously. Well, it wasn't for me to pry.

"We got tired and decided to sit down," Lydia said, saving me before I said something stupid. "And you two? Where were you?"

Oliver looked back to Alfie as the two sat down, and said, very suddenly, "I forgot my tie!"

"Oh."

"So we had to go back and get it. Then, I had a little trouble with the riddle so it took a while, but now here we are!"

Lydia let out a sound of deep sympathy from next to me. "Ah, I see. The riddle was quite hard this time, I thought."

"Yes, I really think Flitwick outdid himself this time."

Lydia and Oliver passed the time discussing the recent riddles that had been the key to their common room, until some loud shouting got all our attention.

"How /dare/ you try to derail the course of this party with your silly antics! Fred, Roxanne, detention for three months each!"

Professor Henrich shouting st You was not good. Professor Henrich using full sentences to speak to you was sometimes worse. A combination of the two...

"I think we should get out of here," I whispered into Lydia's ear, she gave me a little nod of agreement, and we stood, staying as quiet and innocuous as possible. Waving goodbye to Alfie and Oliver, who were still watching the unfolding drama with intrigue, we scampered out of the large doors, and quickly made our way to the back of the west wing. To the sixth floor of the Yesult Tower.

"Oh, we haven't been here in so long!" Lydia sighed as the warmth enveloped us as we stepped into the tower. It was toasty up here, the red rug on the floor soft against our shoes and the piles of cushions very comfortable to sit on. "I like it up here."

"Me too. It's one of those places I'll definitely miss when we leave this place."

"Yeah," Lydia gave me a sad smile, "I know what you mean."

She snuggled into my side as we sat together, my arm draped around her shoulders.

"You feel cold," I commented, as my thumb stroked her arm tenderly.

"It's fine. It's winter, and I'm wearing a dress, of course I'd be cold!"

I chuckled lightly, "I suppose so."

A light, easy silence settled over us again, as lethargy set in and we relaxed into the ultimate comfortableness.

"Can I come and visit you? Over the winter?" She asked, quite out of the blue.

I remember feeling surprised. The surprise I felt sometimes when I remembered that this really was real and not just some dream. Surprised that she'd want to spend time with me outside of school. I'd spend forever with her, but it was always nice to know that she'd spend it with me, too.

"Of course. Why? Do you want to see London?"

"And you." She said, with a cute little smile as she looked up to meet my eyes. "But yes, I've never actually been to London. Or to the south of the U.K."

"Seriously? But the south's the best!"

"Umm— Scotland's the best." She corrected with an unimpressed look I knew she was only putting on for show.

"The south's the best part of _England_ , then."

"Yeah, that's fine."

"I can't believe you've never been down there, though!"

"Why would I? We barely travel by wizard transport because dad still finds it weird, and it takes a very long time to get down there by train."

"That's true. I can't believe your dad doesn't like wizard transport after what— 18 years?"

"I know," she sighed, "it's super annoying sometimes. But mam doesn't care so that's that."

"Where'd they meet again?"

"Oh, the bank. My dad works at a Muggle one, mam was lost and went in for directions. She happened to ask him, and he asked her for her telephone number. She just gave him her address instead, and then they never looked back."

"It's really sweet, actually. Better than my parents, anyway."

Lydia laughed. "What, you mean just like this?"

"Oh. Oh! Well, mum and dad were different...?"

I laughed with her. I couldn't help it, not when it was her.

"But anyway, you're welcome at home. Dad will be happy you're not ginger, and mum will want to meet you, I'm sure."

"Your family really does have a thing for gingers, doesn't it?"

"Well, until this generation. Thankfully. You're not ginger, and neither's Millie."

"Oh, that is true."

The owls began hooting outside. The moon was at the top of its post in the sky, and the stars shimmered on the blanket of the midnight sky.

We talked and talked, sitting there some comfortably in each other's presence. She talked about how she wanted to be a diplomat in the Ministry; I talked about how I was going to talk to the Nurses at St Mungo's next week. We discussed the finer (stranger) points of Scottish cuisine, and of how peculiar it had been, growing up with parents as famous as mine. And Lydia's mum, who had once been a Seeker in the Scottish Quidditch League, and the first Chinese woman to do so.

The time passed, and the moon shifted closer to its resting place than we had.

I knew what I wanted to say. What had been sitting on my heart for some time now. But for some reason, these three words were almost impossible to say when you really meant it.

The silence we sat in was so comfortable, so sweet. I wanted to add to it with those three words; disturb the silence for a moment, to only make it better.

"Lydia,"

"Hm?"

"I love you."

I felt her suck in a breath. She shifted slightly, to meet my green eyes with her entrancingly beautiful brown ones. "I love you, too."

I leant down to give her a quick kiss, my heart bursting with emotion.

She settled down again, leaning her head into my chest, hand entwined in mine. I leant my head over hers, letting my eyes fall closed in this blissful, wonderfully warm silence. I knew, with every fibre of my being, this was how I wanted to end every evening for the rest of my life. With Lydia by my side.

So, this was what love felt like? Then I was happy to be it's victim. growing up with a famous dad. I was happy to always be a victim of love, today and until I died, if all for Lydia.

* * *

 _Awww, they're adorable_

 _Bonus points if you can guess who her mum is! (Hint: It's a named character in both the films + books)_

 _Please review if you've got time and follow for more. Thanks!_


	27. Scorpius

**_Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter_**

 _Thank you to my reviewers **catwomannnnn1** , **Guest** , **Guest** , **MLMarint** and **reppad98**. Yup, Cho Chang is indeed Lydia's mother! Now that's going to be a weird parent-partner introduction, huh? _

_So, yeah, this is it! The final chapter. This feels very, very strange. But, I haven't really got much to say here (more at the bottom), but just in general: I love you all and thank you so much for sticking with me! Awww, I'm getting all emotional now! This is so strange._

 _Anyway, enjoy!_

* * *

 _Chapter 27: Scorpius_

The metal felt cold between my fingers. I could seem to leave it alone, constantly fondling the jewel-encrusted top, and the cool metal teeth of the hairpin. I'd wanted to give it to her as soon as we saw each other, but that hadn't gone quite as planned...

"Scorpius! Albus!"

Rose came over and pecked me on the cheek, but there was barely time to say anything to her, let alone whisper what I really wanted to say in her ear. I waited and waited throughout all the stories about the young cousins and their misadventures, fixated on this pin in my pocket. It was the only thing I had left of mum, really, that was meaningful of my heritage from her side. I couldn't bare ever losing it.

I only really got a chance to catch her alone when Henrich ushered everyone into the hall.

"Hey— I wanted to give you something."

She looked at me confused, and mildly suspicious. "O...kay."

"Here, let's hang back," I suggested, taking her elbows as students flooded past us, on the right side of the square dance floor.

"So?"

"So?" I asked, momentarily distracted by the sight of Max and Lola coming in, together. Since when was _that_ a thing? "Oh, right. Sorry. Anyway," I fingered the hairpin one last time, before pulling it out of my pocket. "Here. I wanted you to wear this."

"It's beautiful! The design and craftsmanship... it's all superb!"

"It was my mother's. The Greengrass heirloom."

"I see..." she said, tracing her fingers over the oh so faint Latin script.

"He sent it to me on my birthday - my father. Aside from my aunt, I'm the last Greengrass. Well, if not in name. So I'm free to do with it as I please, I think."

It didn't need to be said, not anymore. _And I wanted to give it to you._

"Then, thank you. I'll take very good care of it all through the night." She said, with that wonderful smile. It shone as though with the light of a thousand candles from within. The kind of smile that made you warm on a bitter December night, or made you feel okay even if you were horrendously ill.

"Hey— wouldn't help put it in, would you?"

"Of course," I said, taking the pin in my hand as she turned around. Some music started up behind us, a medium-tempo waltz, or perhaps slightly on the _Adagio_ side of things, and I looked over to catch a terrifying glimpse of Henrich, _waltzing_. _With Headmaster McGonagall_. Well, that was something I'd never be able to unsee.

"Where do you want it? In the top— Just here?"

"Yeah, please."

"Okay, I think it's in. Move your head a bit. Yeah, it's in."

She turned back to face me and asked, with a cocky smirk that meant she already knew the answer, "how does it look?"

"Great, of course."

"It really is beautiful, though. Thank you."

I felt the urge to say something, with her looking so beautiful in a deep emerald dress that I really didn't manage to match my tie to, not even by a country mile in her reckoning - I couldn't really tell that well. But I couldn't. I was cut off by the damn applause.

* * *

Rose in my arms, we danced away the hours to all the music they played - the slow waltzes, the traditional English songs, and the faster, more 'modern' music that came about with the swapping of the classical instruments with more modern ones. Rose even swore one of them was an enchanted _elektric_ guitar.

The current song was fast paced and crazy tempoed with some very questionable lyrics about a girl and her Niffler. I wasn't usually much of a fan of this kind of music, but Rose seemed to like it so I'd stay for her.

Finally, it came to an end. Rose turned to me, all flushed in the face and looking like she'd been out in the summer sun, and said, "shall we go and sit down for a bit?"

"Sounds good."

I was jumping for joy internally.

"Here, let's go over here," Rose said, leading me past the seats that I thought we were going to be sitting in, a secluded spot, halfway between a pillar on the left-hand wall of the room and a fountain, spewing what looked like pure water out of icicle spouts, just next to it.

McGonagall and the teachers really had outdone it with the decorations. A fountain made of ice, snow like sugar-dusting all over the uneven stone walls, traditional wreaths and boughs of holly pinned up around the walls, and the candles in the sky, usually just simple, plain candles, replaced with the embellished Germanic traditional ones. All that, coupled with the trees and candy canes and stewing pot of hot chocolate meant that Christmas swallowed up every inch of the boring, normal Great Hall.

"It looks amazing, doesn't it?"

I nodded, "I was just thinking that."

"I am a mindreader, after all."

She smiled at me with a little tilt of her head, and I couldn't quite tell if she was being cocky or joking. I hoped the latter but feared the former.

"Well, at least give me a minute warning to put my thoughts in order."

She raised an eyebrow, "no chance."

We laughed together, and turned back to the dance floor before us.

"Hey— who's that? Next to Alfie?"

Rose nodded over to the blonde boy next to my enviously tall friend. Light blonde hair; tall and thin, with very astute-looking amber eyes. I vaguely knew who he was. "Oliver. No idea of his surname, though. But I think he's a fifth year Ravenclaw."

"Oh, I've never seen him around, I don't think. Is he a friend of Alfie's?"

"Yeah. He said they met doing clean-up duty in the Astrology tower this year. They get on pretty well, apparently."

"Oh. That's strange. I always see him with a million different people, but never this guy before."

"I know, right?" I said, and could feel myself relaxing into the most basic form of speech I ever took. It was still weird to be around Rose - she was my girlfriend. _Girlfriend_. I couldn't help it if I got nervous and awkward around her sometimes. "No, that guy is seriously a social butterfly if I've ever seen one."

"True," said Rose, and not disagreeing since she, herself, was one. "And one of the kindest people in Hogwarts, honestly."

"He is." I agreed without hesitation; Alfie was one of those rare people you met and you knew you shouldn't take for granted because they really would do anything for you. He oozed ingenuity that wouldn't be taken advantage of, and I really appreciated it.

"Albus is, sometimes. I think that's why he and Lydia are so perfect together."

She nodded over to the pair of them, sitting at the back of the hall. They looked like they could've been sitting there for a hundred years, and that they could sit together for a hundred more.

"They're adorable."

"'Adorable'?"

"Yup," I said, sticking by my less-than-macho word choice, and giving her a big grin in return. Nothing about me was macho, that's just who I am.

"Although - if you ever tell Albus I said that, we're going to have serious words."

"Aw, come on! Merlin-forbid you should ever _actually_ be kind to your cousins."

"Of course," she nodded imperiously, "that's how family works."

I will simply never be able to understand the Potter-Weasley family. A strange, loveable, convoluted family if I've ever seen one - and I'm from the _Malfoy_ family. We've got every kind of weird shit imaginable hiding out in our family tree.

"Wait a second - is that _Mia Clarke_ and Lola talking? Sitting together?" Rose asked, looking just a few tables over from where Albus and Lydia were sitting.

Yep, there Hey were. Lola Travers And Mia Clarke, sitting together for all to see. Now _that_ was a weird combination if you've ever seen one.

"What in the name of Arthur happened there? Then?" Rose mumbled, and I followed her exactly into academic mode, trying to decipher all the minutia as to what led to this very strange situation.

"Max told Mia he didn't want to go with her at the beginning of the ball." I offered.

Rose let out a sound of understanding. "I see. Lola's date was a total tool and left her, too. So I guess they're... bonding over lost dates?"

"I never thought I'd see the day." I muttered.

It was very clear that neither of us were a particularly big fan of Mia, but it was never really satisfying to see anyone put down. Unless, of course, they really _really_ deserved it. Mia was pretty horrendous to me, made my life a misery and gave me a scar, but she was also a teenaged girl. I wasn't intending on keeping a grudge that large for very long yet. Besides, Rose said she thought my scar looked cool - and that's all that matters, right?

"Well, I'll be damned." Rose declared. "Speaking of Max - where is he?"

"I think I saw him a moment ago. Over there - I nodded to the other side of the hall, where a slightly sweaty Max was dancing with a very beautiful girl in a. Red dress wait—

"Isabelle?" The two of us chorused in unison.

"Wait, you knew?"

"I knew what?"

"You know he's her type?" Rose asked, watching the couple but giving a brief look back to me for confirmation.

"No. But he's had a big crush on her, and he's been in a mood about it for _weeks_."

"No way! She's mentioned him a lot since we started this year!"

"Why didn't they just talk sooner?"

Neither one of us bothered to answer my question. It was like the pot calling the kettle black, and frankly too uncomfortable to go over at all.

"Well, anyway," Rose said, flicking her hair behind her shoulders.

"Yes, anyway."

"They look good together."

I nodded, wordlessly. They really did. To be honest, I never thought he'd be able to keep it in his pants long enough to be able to really like someone. But I guess I was wrong; Max deserved more credit than I gave him when it came to women. Not that I could really talk, of course.

"There's Paige and Rhys."

"I can't believe you'd let your friend go with him."

"I can't believe she agreed to go with him," Rose sighed, quickly turning back to scan the floor again. "And there's Amelie and— oh."

That was not Joshua who's arms Amelie was in. That was Jake Andrews.

"Jake Andrews."

I turned to look at Tose, wager to see how she'd react. Of course, I felt bad for Joshua in the foremost - that was his girlfriend, in the arms of a prize twat. But also...

"She has no idea what she's getting herself into." Rose sighed, and those very enigmatic words sent me over the edge. I couldn't help myself. I felt the urge and could only watch it and the words barrel out of my mouth before I could do anything to stop it.

"So what _really_ happened?"

" _Really_ happened?" Rose raised an eyebrow and gave me an indulgent sort of smile. That meant she was halfway to pissed off... oh dear. Oh dear, indeed.

"What happened was... I kind of got off with him at the end of last year. Once. Wait, no— twice."

That, I knew already. It didn't really matter to me, anyway - she's assured me it was in the past now.

"It turns out, he'd got off with me and two other girls, all whilst he was going out with Jasmine."

"Wait, no—"

"Yeah, my friend Jasmine Taylor-Thomas. You see, he'd made her promise to keep it all a secret, so she did. But that was just so he could get around with as many other girls as he liked. And from what I've heard, it wasn't the first time he did it...

"And, before you ask, it's not that I really liked him that I cared. It's because I couldn't believe I'd been so stupid. It's only something I worked out recently, actually. I couldn't believe I'd been so dumb as to fall for his tricks. I'm a clever girl. Things like that don't happen to clever girls."

Apparently, they did. He couldnt help but feel slightly annoyed at her for being with such a scum bag - and yet, it wasn't her fault. She'd been duped, and I felt bad for her. I wanted to say more to comfort her, but I couldn't think of anything. Apparently, emotions and I didn't mix well together, still. So I said the only thing I could think to say.

"Yeah. He's terrible."

She gave me a little smile. "Thanks. I just feel bad for Amelie, now. She's ditching a boy far too good for her for a wanker like Jake Andrews."

"I'm not sure I do feel bad for her. She's going to stomp all over my friend Joshua's heart."

Rose hummed in agreement.

I'm sure we would've carried on like this until we were ready to dance again, but apparently, fate had other plans.

"Roxanne and Fred Weasley! Come here and empty your pockets!"

"Oh no..." I whimpered, already seeing exactly where this was going.

"How _dare_ you try to derail the course of this party with your silly antics! Fred, Roxanne, detention for three months each!"

"Do you think they did what I think they did?" Rose asked, voice full of exasperation but still, a little smile played on her lips.

"Oh yep. Gin in the punch?"

"Gin in the punch."

"James Potter! Freya Walsh! Escort students to their dorms immediately, the Ball is finished!"

Henrich was shouting furiously now, fighting against the crowd of pissed off and slightly drunk teenagers. He was so red and tense he looked like he might pop any second; honestly, he looked hilarious and I couldn't help a snigger.

"What?"

"I've never seen Henrich look so mad." I snorted, and she just rolled her eyes with a wider smile of her own. He secretly liked Henrich, but she'd never admit it to me - that, I knew.

"Alright, Hufflepuffs And Slytherin follow Freya - Ravenclaw And Gryffindors with me!" James shouted, with a magically amplified voice and holding his wand aloft with a red spark at the end.

"Wait—" I said, just as Rose was about to leave, "want to _not_ go back to our dorms?"

"You mean, break the rules? Why Scorpius Malfoy, you make a _terrible_ prefect."

"Yup. Still, want to go?"

"Of course."

"Stick behind me, then, and I've got a plan."

She looked at me with questioning eyes, but nodded anyway, and followed closely at my back as we left, through the corridors, and out into the great staircase hall.

"Here-" I said, and suddenly pulled her behind me out of the marching column of students, into a cleaning closet I knew would be there.

" _This_ was your plan? A cleaning cupboard?"

I shrugged. "It works, doesn't it?"

She hummed, in a tone I took as agreement, and shuffled around. "Hey, I recognise this cupboard."

"How? It's pitch black,"

"I could only assume the pause was for the rolling of her eyes. "I dragged you in here, at the start of this year."

"No. This is _that cupboard_?"

"Yeah, I think so."

"The one I shouted at you from?"

She sniggered. "Yeah."

"Oh Merlin."

"Hey! I eventually ended up coming with you, it didn't end that badly!"

"Good point. Still, I know a way to make this a much better cupboard. Come here." I instructed, holding out my arm and feeling out for hers. I placed her in front of me - I could only assume - in the pitch black. And leant forwards, and kissed her.

Sure, my aiming was a little off at first, but we got there in the end, right?

"Yeah... much better," Rose agreed, and I could hear her chuckle under her breath a little, as I felt her head rest on my shoulder.

In the sound of only our heart beats alone, I strained my ears to listen outside.

"Okay, we're in the clear now."

"Owlery?"

"Of course."

I opened the door to see her grinning and, her hand in mine, we hurried to the Owlery together.

* * *

The door crashed open with the unnecessary force I whacked it with and the strong winds pelting is for the outside.

"Oh, whoops." I winced,

"It's fine. Only Alys and I are here to see you, and at least one of us won't judge."

"Cold," I pouted, knowing exactly what she meant.

She turned back to flash me a bright smile, before hurrying deeper into the room."Hey, can you light these candles? I can't see a thing."

I hurried over to cast light around the place, and immediately, it felt cosier in the orangey glow of their light. Just as this place always did and always would be for me, now. All down to Rose.

"Oh, look- there's a note." She said, pointing to a small piece of paper with neatly written, calligraphy handwriting on it.

 _'Out until Monday morning at a ghost party._

 _Merry Christmas,_

 _Alys.'_

"How did she...?" The question died on my lips. Now really wasn't the time to be questioning ghost physics.

"That's nice of her, though," Rose said, taking a few steps backwards and—

"Rose, Wait! No!"

She kicked over the vat of Amortentia we'd spent ages brewing, and it spilt all over the floor, the fumes very quickly filling the room like smoke from a particularly rampant fire.

"Oh, no." She said, hand covering her mouth. "I'm so sorry!" She said, as she watched me evaporate it all with my wand. I made short work of it, so I didn't really care - but the fumes, however, made me feel weird and heady.

"It's fine, really!" I said, and gave her a quick kiss for reassurance.

"Okay. Okay. If you're sure,"

"Positive."

She didn't look certain of what I said, so I gave her another kiss. And another. We sat in our usual spot, passing the night chatting and snogging and speculating and laughing. I knew that with Rose, this wasn't going to be smooth sailing. This was not life, guaranteed, after a few short weeks. But if it were with Rose, it's a journey I'd be more than happy to take. For her, I'd sail to the ends of the ocean if she all but asked.

"Hey, Rose?"

"Yeah?"

"Thank you," I said, looking into her beautiful, wide, intelligent, assured, confident brown eyes as we broke from another deep kiss. "Thank you, for the invitation."

 _The End_

* * *

 _Omg I did it! I've never been able to put 'The End' on any of my stories on here before! I'm super happy, I can't lie._

 _So, first, of course, I'd love to know your thoughts on this chapter, the ending, the overall story, whatever you've got to say! I'd be really interested to hear what you all have to say, so please, let me know!_

 _Secondly, I have to say a huuuuge thank you to every single one of my reviewers: **Son of Whitebeard** , **C.S** , **HarryPotterFanHermione** , **MLMarint** , **AMBERJANUS** , **JSL** **aw** , **BellaStoria** , **Ringo Starr's Girlfriend** , **Momo** , **LusciousNesha** , **catwomannnnn1, Crystal Jupitar, chapou69, weasleyqueen96, laura, reppad98, Shadwood, Corellia11270, KiaMinaya, and all 41 Guests!** You guys are really just the absolute best, you kept me writing! I love you all and I'm thankful for every review left - even the weird ones! No, I'm just kidding, I sincerely thank you all from the bottom of my heart._

 _Finally, sequel news. So, I can confirm that there will indeed one. Probably next year now because lol there are 5 days left in the year. However, I can say that mid-next year (probably, if life actually goes to plan for once!) I'll start publishing - so keep an eye out for that! I'll say a few things about it now: no, it won't immediately follow on from this (sorry!). Yes, it will still focus on Rose and Scorpius, but of course, the other characters will have their own appearances. yeah, I'think that's all I'll say for now!_

 _Well, I guess this is it. How strange... One final thank you to everyone who got involved in this story - reviewers, of course, as well as all those who favourited, followed, and even those who simply read. I've had an amazing response to this story, and that's kept me going through the most hellish semester I've ever had. Thank you and I love you all!_

 _So, for the final time: please review if you've got time and favourite if you enjoyed it. Thank you all!_

 _\- MateriaFlower1-1_


End file.
